UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  02258  2571 


GOVERNMENT,. 


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IBRARY 

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ALIFORNIA 
IAN  DIEGO 


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liii'l'ilNfi"i^,'J,T„9';„9i*'-IFORNIA.  SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  02258  257- 


THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 


Before  publication  the  several  chapters  of  this  book  ^cre 
read  and  approved  by  the  following  authorities : 


I. — The  President. 

WiLUAM  H.  Taft,  President  of 
the  United  States. 

II. — The  Department  of  State. 

Philander  C.  Knox,  Secretary 
of  State. 

III. — The  Treasury  Department. 

Franklin  MacVeagh,  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury, 

IV.— The  Army. 

Maj.  Gen.  Leonakd  Wood,  Chief 
of  Staff. 

V. — ^The  Navy. 

Rear  Admiral  Richard  Wain- 
WRIGHT,  Aid  for  Operations. 

VI.— The  Postal  Service. 

Frank  H.  Hitchcock,  Postmas- 
ter General. 

VII. — The  Interior  Department. 

Carmi  a.  Thompson,  Acting  Seo- 
retary  of  the  Interior. 

VIII.— The  Patent  Office. 

Edward  B.  Moore,  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents. 

IX. — ^The  Geological  Survey. 

Henry  C.  Rizer,  Acting  Director. 
X. — ^The  Department  of  Agriculture. 

James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture. 

XI. — The  Weather  Bureau. 

Willis  L.  Moore,  Chief  of  the 
Weather  Bureau. 

XII. — The  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor. 

Charles  Nagel,  Secretary  of 
Commerce  and  Labor. 

XIII. — The  Census  Bureau. 

E.  Dana  Durand,  Director  of  the 
Census. 

XIV. — The  Bureau  of  Standards. 
S.  W.  Stratton,  Director. 

XV.— The  Public  Health. 

Dr.  Harvet  W.  Wiley,  Chief  of 
the  Bureau  of  Chemistry. 

Dr.  Walter  Wyman,  Surgeon 
Ceneral  of  the  Public  Health 
and  Marine-Hospital  Service. 


XVI. — The  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Richard  Rathbdn,  Actiiig  Sec- 
retary. 

XVII.— The  Panama  Canal. 

Col.  George  W.  Goethals, 
Chairman  and  Chief  Engineer. 

XVIII. — The    Interstate    Commerce 
Commission. 
Jddson  C.  Clements,  Chairman. 
XIX. — Our  Insular  Possessions. 

Brig.  Gen.  Clarence  R.  Ed- 
wards, Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Insular  Affairs. 

XX. — How  Congress  Legislates. 

Senator  Thomas  S.  Martin, 
Chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Conference. 

XXI. — The    House    of    Representa- 
tives. 
Champ  Clark,  Speaker. 
XXII.— The  Senate. 

Jambs  S.  Sherman,  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

XXIII. — The  Library  of  Congress. 
Herbert  Putnam,  Librarian. 

XXrV. — The   Government   Printing 
Office. 
Samuel  B.    Doicnellt,   Public 
Printer. 

XXV.— The  Civil  Service. 

John  C.  Black,  President  Civil 
Service  Commission. 

XXVI.— The  Supreme  Court. 

James  H.  McKenney,  Clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 

States. 

XXVII.— Other  Federal  Courts. 

Wilbur  S.  Hinman,  Deputy 
Clerk  of  the  United  States  Com- 
merce Court. 

XXVIII.— The  Department  of  Jus- 
tice. 
George  W.  Wickersham,  Attor- 
ney General. 

XXIX. — The  Pan  American  Union. 

John  Barrett,  Director  General. 
XXX.— The  National  Capital. 

CuNO  H.  Rudolph,  President  of 
the  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
the  District  of  Columbia. 


THE  AMERICAN 
GOVERNMENT 


BY 

FREDERIC  J.   HASKIN 


ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 

TAKEN  ESPECIALLY  FOR  THIS  EDITION  BY 

BARNEY  M.  CLINEDINST 


PHILADELPHIA  &  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1912 


Copyright,  1911,  bt 
FREDERIC  J.  HASKIN 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
J.  B.  LippiNCOTT  Company 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 
London,  October,  1911 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction      .       .       .       .       .       .     xi 

I. — The  President 1 

II. — The  State  Department  ....     14 
III. — The  Treasury  Department  ...     27 

rV. — The  Army 40 

v.— The  Navy 53 

VI. — The  Postal  Service 65 

VII. — The  Interior  Department    ...     78 

VIII. — The  Patent  Office 91 

IX. — The  Geological  Survey         .       .       .  103 

X. — The  Department  of  Agriculture      .  117 

XI. — The  Weather  Bureau    ....   130 

XII. — Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  143 

XIII. — ^The  Census  Bureau        .       .       .       .157 

XIV. — The  Bureau  of  Standards    .       .       .170 

XV.— The  Public  Health         .       .       .       .183 

XVI. — The  Smithsonian  Institution       .       .196 

XVII.— The  Panama  Canal 209 

XVIII. — The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  221 

XIX. — Our  Insular  Possessions       .       .       .  235 

XX. — How  Congress  Legislates     .       .       .  248 

XXI. — The  House  of  Representatives  .       .  261 

XXII.— The  Senate 274 

V 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEB  PAGE 

XXIII. — The  Library  of  Congress     .       .  .  287 

XXIV. — The  Government  Printing  Office  .  299 

XXV.— The  Civil  Service 312 

XXVI.— The  Supreme  Court        .       .       .  .325 

XXVII.— Other  Federal  Courts  .       .       .  .337 

XXVIII. — The  Department  of  Justice.       .  .  349 

XXIX.— The  Pan  American  Union      .       .  .362 

XXX.— The  National  Capital   .       .       .  .374 

XXXI. — National  Political  Campaigns   .  .  387 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Entrance  to  White  House        4 

Tourists  waiting  to  ascend  Washington  Monument     12 

Declaration  of  Independence     . 20 

Printing  Dollar  Bills 28 

Destroying  Old  Paper  Money 39 

Troopers  at  Fort  Myer 44 

Clock  that  regulates  time  for  the  United  States     .     52 

The  Naval  Observatory 60 

Making  Ink  for  Postage  Stamps 73 

Searching  the  files  in  the  Patent  Office     ....     92 

Testing  Mine  Rescue  Apparatus 109 

Observation  Tower  at  Weather  Bureau    ....  132 
Machine  that  tests  Standard  Weights      ....  172 

Dr.  Wiley  at  Work 180 

Preparing  Tuberculin  for  Shipment 188 

Government  Taxidermist 196 

Roosevelt  Lions  in  National  Museum      ....  204 
Testing  Steel  for  the  Panama  Canal       ....  220 

A  View  in  Washington 252 

Bearing  the  Mace        268 

Grand  Stairway  in  Library  of  Congress      .     .     .  284 

Printing  the  President's  Message 301 

Court  in  Pan  American  Building 364 

Pennsylvania  Avenue  from  the  Treasury       .     .     .  379 


PREFACE. 

While  this  book  is  a  generally  comprehensive 
review  of  the  actual  work  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  it  does  not  pretend  to 
relate  the  complete  history  of  the  several  depart- 
ments nor  to  present  a  full  account  of  all  of  the 
details  of  their  present  activities.  To  do  so  would 
require  many,  many  volumes  of  this  size.  How- 
ever, the  reader  who  would  be  informed  on  the 
actual  operations  of  his  Government  will  find  this 
presentation  a  dependable  source  of  information 
on  the  more  important  phases  of  the  subject. 


IX 


INTRODUCTION. 

This  book  is  to  tell  about  the  work  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
the  most  active  and  powerful  Nation  in  the  world, 
what  is  required  of  the  servants  of  its  people 
from  the  President  down,  and  how  these  oflScers 
perform  that  service. 

It  is  not  designed  as  a  treatise  on  the  science 
of  government,  nor  as  an  exposition  of  the  pecul- 
iar political  structure  of  the  United  States.  It 
is,  rather,  an  effort  to  tell  in  the  ordinary  lan- 
guage of  everyday  life  what  the  Government  does 
and  how  it  does  it. 

The  United  States  is  the  largest  Nation  in  the 
world,  in  population,  area,  and  wealth,  whose  peo- 
ple speak  one  language  and  enjoy  the  privilege 
of  self-government.  The  American  people  gov- 
ern themselves  by  means  of  a  complicated  ma- 
chinery unlike  that  of  any  other  Nation.  Things 
that  are  local  in  their  nature,  or  that  were  local 
at  the  time  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  are 
under  the  control  of  the  semi-independent  gov- 
ernments of  the  several  States.  These  States,  in 
turn,  acknowledge  certain  rights  of  local  govern- 

xi 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

ment  to  more  restricted  areas,  such  as  cities  and 
towns,  counties  and  school  districts. 

The  Federal  Government,  with  which  this  book 
is  solely  concerned,  derives  its  powers  from  the 
States  and  the  people,  and  is  strictly  limited  in 
its  activities  to  affairs  concerning  the  whole  Na- 
tion, or  more  than  one  State,  as  defined  in  the 
Constitution  of  1787  and  its  amendments  of  sub- 
sequent dates. 

Measured  in  terms  of  receipts  and  expenditures 
of  public  money,  the  Federal  Government  repre- 
sents but  little  more  than  a  third  of  the  business 
of  government  in  this  country.  Yet  in  spite  of 
this  limitation,  the  national  governmental  ma- 
chine is  in  many  respects  the  most  powerful  and 
most  active  in  the  world. 

The  work  of  the  Government  in  this  advanced 
and  advancing  age  is  not  confined  to  the  things 
usually  denoted  by  the  word  "government."  No 
longer  a  mere  collector  of  taxes  and  a  wager  of 
war,  the  modern  government  must  needs  aid  its 
people  in  the  creation  of  wealth  and  the  progress 
of  culture. 

Our  Government  is  a  builder.  It  undertakes  to 
construct  almost  anything,  from  a  gun  that  will 
hurl  two-thirds  of  a  ton  of  steel  a  distance  of 
15  miles  to  a  pair  of  scales  so  delicate  that  the 
balance  will  turn  sharply  under  the  weight  of  a 
millionth  part  of  a  grain.  Our  Government  is 
an  operator.  It  takes  observations  of  tempera- 
ture with  a  thermometer  so  sensitive  that  it  will 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

measure  tlie  heat  of  a  candle  5  miles  away,  and 
it  operates  a  gigantic  testing  machine  that  will 
register  a  strain  of  10,000,000  pounds. 

It  performs  functions  ranging  from  the  con- 
duct of  international  diplomatic  affairs  to  the 
driving  of  mules;  from  making  maps  to  feeding 
hogs;  from  coining  money  to  making  ice  cream; 
from  digging  canals  to  flying  kites. 

The  service  of  a  half  million  men  and  women 
and  the  expenditure  of  more  than  a  billion  dol- 
lars a  year  are  required  to  keep  this  huge  ma- 
chine going. 

This  is  the  same  machine  that  was  set  going  a 
century  and  a  quarter  ago  by  the  impoverished 
people  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  numbering  alto- 
gether not  3,000,000.  They  established  the  Gov- 
ernment more  in  hope  than  in  confidence,  and 
not  the  wisest  seer  nor  the  most  optimistic 
dreamer  among  them  would  have  dared  to  pre- 
dict the  things  that  this  book  sets  forth. 

That  baby  Government  was  so  poor  that  it  was 
forced  to  borrow  money  upon  the  personal  credit 
of  its  officers,  or  to  beg  the  little  better  credit  of 
one  of  its  constituent  States.  When  the  Capitol 
was  built  at  Washington  (the  central  part  of  the 
same  building  in  which  the  laws  are  now  made), 
the  United  States  was  forced  to  borrow  the  money 
to  pay  the  laborers  from  the  wealthier  govern- 
ments of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Now  the  credit 
of  the  United  States  is  greater  than  that  of  any 
other  Nation,  and  it  borrows  money  upon  more 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

advantageous  terms  than  can  any  of  the  great 
Nations  of  Europe  that  so  lately  smiled  indul- 
gently upon  what  they  called  "the  American  ex- 
periment." 

It  is  a  great  country  as  well  as  a  great  Govern- 
ment, Having  only  one-sixteenth  of  the  world's 
population,  the  United  States  has  a  fourth  of  its 
wealth,  owns  a  third  of  its  railways,  distributes 
a  third  of  its  mail,  wields  a  third  of  its  banking 
power,  and  prints  more  than  half  of  its  news- 
papers and  magazines. 

Having  only  one-twentieth  of  the  landed  area 
of  the  civilized  world,  the  United  States  produces 
one-fifth  of  its  wheat,  one-third  of  its  coal,  one- 
fourth  of  its  gold,  one-third  of  its  manufactured 
wares,  nearly  one-half  of  its  steel,  more  than  half 
of  its  petroleum,  nearly  two-thirds  of  its  cotton, 
and  four-fifths  of  its  corn.  It  is  the  land  of 
plenty,  for  it  is  the  only  country  on  earth,  except- 
ing some  of  the  British  colonies,  where  an  ordi- 
nary laboring  man  may  eat  meat  every  day  if  he 
wants  it. 

Unlike  all  Governments  that  had  preceded  it  in 
the  history  of  politics,  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment is  established  upon  a  principle  of  divided 
authority  and  responsibility.  Not  only  are  re- 
strictions placed  upon  the  powers  of  the  Federal 
Government  by  the  reservation  to  the  States  and 
the  people  of  all  powers  not  enumerated  in  the 
Constitution,  but  there  is  also  the  separation  of 
the   executive,   the  legislative,   and  the  judicial 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

functions  of  government  into  three  branches  of 
equal  majesty  and  importance.  In  a  constitu- 
tional monarchy  like  Great  Britain,  or  a  parlia- 
mentary Republic  like  France,  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  Government  is  supreme.  In  a 
Federal  Emj^ire  like  Germany,  or  an  autocratic 
Empire  like  Russia,  the  executive  branch  of  the 
Government  is  supreme.  In  our  country,  in 
theory,  the  three  branches  are  coordinate  and 
equal,  although  sometimes  one  asserts  its  power 
over  the  other  two  in  a  particular  matter. 

For  instance,  the  Supreme  Court  may  nullify 
a  law  passed  by  Congress  on  the  theory  that  it  is 
unconstitutional;  the  President  may  refuse  to 
execute  a  decree  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  and  Con- 
gress may  refuse  to  vote  money  for  the  supply 
of  the  executive  departments.  But  these  are  ex- 
ceptional things. 

The  executive,  or  law-enforcing  function  of  the 
Government  is  vested  in  the  President.  He  ap- 
points the  Cabinet  officers  who  superintend  the 
departments,  and  is,  finally,  responsible  for  all  of 
the  varied  activities  of  the  executive  branch  of 
the  Government — a  responsibility  that  includes 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  work  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  is  greater  than  that  laid  upon  the 
shoulders  of  any  other  mortal  man. 

The  legislative,  or  law-making  function  of  the 
Government  is  vested  in  Congress.  Representa- 
tives, elected  by  the  people,  compose  the  House 
of  Representatives,  or  lower  chamber,  and  in  this 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

body  must  originate  all  hills  having  to  do  with 
taxing  the  people.  Senators  chosen  by  the  States, 
two  from  each  State,  compose  the  Senate,  or  up- 
per chamber.  The  concurrence  of  the  Senate  is 
required  in  all  legislative  acts  and  also  in  certain 
Executive  deeds,  including  the  appointment  of 
officers  and  the  ratification  of  treaties  with  for- 
eign powers.  The  President  has  a  part  in  the 
legislative  function,  also,  since  he  may  veto  a  bill 
passed  by  Congress  and  unless  it  is  passed  a  sec- 
ond time  by  a  two-thirds  vote  in  both  Houses  it 
can  not  become  a  law. 

The  judicial  or  law-interpreting  function  of  the 
Government  is  vested  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  and  other  Federal  courts  crea- 
ted by  Congress.  The  Supreme  Court  is  the  final 
arbiter  of  all  disputes  arising  under  the  laws  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  as  the  interpreter 
of  the  Constitution  it  can  set  aside  the  acts  of 
Congress  or  of  the  President  on  the  groimd  that 
the  power  delegated  by  the  States  and  the  people 
in  the  Constitution  has  been  exceeded. 

Upon  this  triangular  framework  has  been 
erected  the  marvelous  machine  that  we  call  the 
American  Government.  Its  political  complica- 
tions are  such  that  no  man  may  describe  them 
without  provoking  controversy,  and  with  them 
this  book  has  nothing  to  do. 

Leaving  on  one  side  the  considerations  of  the 
statesman  who  is  concerned  with  theories,  and  on 
the  other  those  of  the  politician  who  is  concerned 


INTEODUCTION  xvii 

with  expedients,  this  book  represents  an  effort 
to  tell  of  the  work  and  the  workers  of  the  Federal 
Government. 

It  is  a  plain  account  of  how  the  President,  the 
Congress,  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  of  the  other 
half  million  servants  of  the  American  people 
do  the  work  of  the  people  for  the  people. 

It  is  the  story  of  the  actual  doings  of  the  men 
who,  as  officers  of  the  Government,  protect  this 
Nation  against  foreign  foes,  administer  its  laws 
to  preserve  peace  at  home,  safeguard  the  public 
health  and  prosperity,  conserve  the  use  of  its 
national  resources,  encourage  its  inventive  genius, 
and  do  all  in  their  power  to  advance  its  moral 
and  material  interests. 

It  is  a  story  to  make  every  American  breast 
swell  with  pride,  a  story  whose  hard  facts  loom 
so  large  in  the  record  of  the  world's  accomplish- 
ments that  the  knowledge  of  them  can  not  but 
increase  the  love  and  honor  all  of  us  have  for 
the  Land  of  the  Free  and  the  Home  of  the  Brave. 


THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   PRESIDENT. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  the  fore- 
most ruler  of  the  world.  He  is  not  a  ruler  by 
accident  of  birth,  but  by  virtue  of  the  will  of 
90,000,000  people,  who  fight  the  world's  greatest 
political  battle  every  four  years  for  his  selection, 
and  then  willingly  and  fully  acquiesce  in  the  ver- 
dict of  the  ballot  box. 

Election  to  the  presidency  carries  with  it  a  vast 
responsibility.  The  successful  candidate  faces 
four  years  of  administering  the  laws  of  the  great- 
est Nation  on  earth,  acting  as  the  master  mind  of 
a  huge  machine  manned  by  nearly  half  a  million 
men  and  women,  a  machine  which  can  patch  a 
mail  bag,  study  a  plant  louse,  maneuver  an  army, 
or  dig  a  Panama  Canal. 

Congress  makes  the  Nation's  laws,  the  courts 
interpret  them,  and  the  President  executes  them. 
Congress  may  appropriate  a  billion  dollars  a 
year,  but  the  President  must  execute  the  laws  by 

1 


2         THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

which  this  vast  sum  is  raised,  as  well  as  those 
under  which  it  is  spent.  When  he  assumes  the 
presidency,  he  undertakes  to  carry  out  laws 
which,  during  his  term,  call  for  the  expenditure 
of  nearly  $4,000,000,000.  Not  only  is  it  incum- 
bent upon  the  President  to  execute  the  laws,  but 
he  must  take  an  important  part  in  framing  them. 
He  must,  from  time  to  time,  send  messages  to 
Congress,  advising  that  body  of  the  condition  of 
the  country  and  as  to  what  legislation  is  needed 
for  the  improvement  of  those  conditions. 
Through  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  he  must 
also  inform  Congress  just  how  much  money  will 
be  needed  to  keep  the  Government  going  during 
the  next  year,  and  when  Congress  appropriates 
these  funds  that  action  is  not  completed  until  the 
President  has  scrutinized  and  signed  the  appro- 
priation measures. 

While  the  President  has  a  Cabinet  to  assist  him 
in  his  supervision  of  the  execution  of  the  laws 
of  the  Nation,  under  the  Constitution  he  is  solely 
responsible  for  any  official  action  any  member  of 
the  body  may  take.  As  a  collective  organization, 
the  Cabinet  has  no  constitutional  standing,  its 
decisions  being  in  nowise  binding  upon  the  Presi- 
dent. This  is  illustrated  by  a  story  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. He  brought  before  his  Cabinet  a  proposi- 
tion which  he  favored  and  the  Cabinet  voted 
against  it.  He  declared  the  votes  to  be  7  noes  and 
1  aye.  ' '  Therefore, ' '  said  he,  ' '  the  ayes  have  it. ' ' 
The  President,  with  his  attention  demanded  upon 


THE   PRESIDENT  3 

every  kind  of  matter,  from  the  appointment  of  a 
postmaster  at  Podunk  to  the  determination  of  the 
proper  course  to  pursue  in  a  great  international 
situation,  is  a  very  busy  man.  But  he  has  so 
systematized  his  work  that  he  has  almost  as 
much  time  for  recreation  as  the  average  man  of 
affairs. 

For  instance,  although  his  mail  is  the  largest 
received  by  the  head  of  any  Government  on  earth, 
it  is  so  handled  that  the  task  of  going  through  it 
is  not  a  very  burdensome  one.  The  daily  num- 
ber of  letters  ranges  from  500  to  2,000,  but  less 
than  a  hundred  of  these  require  the  personal  at- 
tention of  the  President.  There  is  one  clerk  in 
the  Executive  Offices  whose  sole  duty  is  to  classify 
this  correspondence  as  it  comes  in.  A  card-index 
system  of  all  correspondence  is  maintained  with 
a  complete  filing  system  in  connection.  Probably 
a  hundred  letters  of  a  day's  mail  may  be  an- 
swered by  a  single  form  letter,  without  even  en- 
gaging the  attention  of  the  Secretary  to  the 
President.  Several  hundred  of  the  remainder 
will  be  distributed  to  the  various  departments  and 
perhaps  less  than  half  will  reach  the  Secretary 
to  the  President.  Of  those  which  do,  the  secre- 
tary makes  a  digest  and  when  the  President  has 
a  moment  of  leisure  his  secretary  gives  him 
their  substance  and  receives  instructions  as  to 
the  replies  to  be  made.  Letters  are  often  ad- 
dressed to  the  President  and  his  wife  marked 
''personal"  and  ''private,"  but  these  marks  are 


4        THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

necessarily  disregarded.  Only  letters  initialed  by 
intimate  personal  and  political  friends  reach  the 
President  unopened. 

Probably  no  other  official  in  the  world  receives 
more  begging  letters  than  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  estimated  that  in  many  in- 
stances the  letters  of  this  nature  received  in  the 
course  of  a  single  day  ask  for  as  much  as  $20,000 
in  the  aggregate.  Often  the  letter-writing  pro- 
clivities of  the  beggars  are  stimulated  by  jokes 
which  the  Washington  correspondents  sometimes 
perpetrate  upon  the  President.  When  Mr.  Roose- 
velt first  enunciated  his  celebrated  antirace  sui- 
cide doctrine,  some  humorous  newspaper  writer 
sent  out  a  story  to  the  effect  that  the  President 
had  received  28  baby  carriages.  It  was  published 
broadcast,  and  hundreds  of  poor  families  wrote 
asking  him  for  these  carriages. 

Writing  to  the  President  has  become  much 
more  general  in  recent  years  than  formerly.  It 
is  said  that  during  the  Grant  administration  the 
Executive  force  used  to  play  croquet  during  the 
dull  hours  of  the  day  and  only  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  mail  would  be  summoned  to  the  Executive 
Offices. 

The  constant  stream  of  callers  and  the  vast 
amount  of  routine  business  make  the  heaviest  de- 
mands upon  the  time  of  the  President.  During 
the  first  three  or  four  weeks  of  his  administra- 
tion, he  may  have  to  shake  hands  with  from  50,- 
000  to  75,000  people.     Unless  he  learns  to  grip 


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ENTIlA^XE  TO  WHITE  HOUSE. 


THE   PRESIDENT  5 

the  hand  of  his  visitor  before  the  visitor  grips 
his,  he  is  sure  to  have  a  badly  swollen  arm.  The 
President  may  transact  the  business  of  his  office 
at  any  place  he  may  elect,  and  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  his  spending  the  major  portion  of  his 
time  elsewhere  than  in  Washington.  Congress 
once  asked  President  Grant  to  advise  it  as  to 
what  part  of  his  duties  were  performed  outside 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  replied  in  a  po- 
lite, but  none  the  less  pointed,  note  that  it  was 
none  of  Congress'  business.  Never  since  then 
has  this  right  been  questioned.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  Constitution  which  prohibits  the  President 
from  going  beyond  the  borders  of  the  United 
States,  but  Mr.  Cleveland  was  the  first  President 
to  do  so.  On  a  fishing  trip  he  went  beyond  the 
3-mile  limit  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Aside  from  the  great  power  accruing  to  the 
President  through  his  right  to  appoint  all  of  the 
administrative  officers  of  the  Government,  and  to 
supervise  the  expenditure  of  the  billions  of  dol- 
lars appropriated  by  Congress,  and  beyond  the 
prestige  which  his  office  gives  him,  he  possesses 
the  power  which,  prior  to  the  admission  of  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico,  amounted  to  the  legisla- 
tive influence  of  14  Senators  and  65  Representa- 
tives, this  many  votes  being  required  in  addition 
to  a  majority  to  override  his  veto.  The  only 
method  by  which  the  President  can  be  thwarted 
in  his  purpose  by  Congress,  so  long  as  he  keeps 
within  his  constitutional  powers,  is  by  its  refusal 


6        THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

to  appropriate  the  money  he  needs  for  carrying 
out  his  plans.  As  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Army  he  has  the  right  to  handle  it  as  he  sees  fit. 
But  Congress  controls  the  appropriations  for  the 
support  of  the  Army,  and  it  provides  that  this 
money  shall  be  available  only  when  the  Army  is 
handled  in  a  specific  way.  This  same  check  upon 
the  President  is  used  in  other  instances. 

The  person  of  the  President  is  inviolable  dur- 
ing his  term  of  office.  Theoretically  he  can  not 
be  arrested  or  restrained  by  any  official,  even 
should  he  commit  murder.  The  only  remedy 
against  him  while  President  is  the  cumbersome 
proceedings  of  impeachment.  Even  in  these  pro- 
ceedings he  can  not  be  compelled  to  answer,  to 
attend,  or  to  do  any  other  thing  which  in  the 
slightest  degree  might  interfere  with  his  personal 
liberty.  This  is  upon  the  theory  that  such  re- 
straint would  restrict  either  the  negative  or  the 
positive  powers  of  his  office,  and  enable  other  in- 
dividuals to  circumvent  the  supreme  authority 
of  the  Constitution.  In  practice,  however,  the 
President  may  be  arrested  and  otherwise  re- 
strained. General  Grant  was  once  arrested  by  a 
negro  policeman  for  fast  driving.  He  commended 
the  officer  for  doing  his  duty,  put  up  $20  col- 
lateral and  forfeited  it  in  the  police  court  next 
day. 

As  far  as  the  courts  are  concerned,  the  Presi- 
dent may  also  do  as  he  pleases.  Interested  par- 
ties have  sought  to  restrain  him  from  doing  cer- 


THE   PRESIDENT  7 

tain  things  by  injunction  proceedings,  or  to  com- 
pel him  to  do  other  things  by  mandamus,  but  the 
courts  have  uniformly  refused  to  take  any  action 
hampering  the  discretionary  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent. Congress  and  the  President  often  clash, 
but  the  judiciary  and  the  President  seldom  do. 
In  one  instance  Chief  Justice  Marshall  handed 
down  an  opinion  with  reference  to  an  Indian 
tribe,  which  did  not  suit  President  Jackson,  who 
declared:  ''John  Marshall  has  made  his  decision, 
now  let  him  enforce  it." 

While  many  people  complain  that  the  President 
is  a  poorly  paid  and  poorly  housed  Chief  Execu- 
tive, considering  the  size  and  importance  of  the 
American  Nation,  nevertheless  he  manages  to  live 
in  a  style  which  would  be  pleasing  to  the  average 
American  citizen.  The  annual  appropriation  for 
the  upkeep  of  the  White  House  amounts  ap- 
proximately to  $86,000.  A  fine  conservatory  is 
maintained  for  his  benefit,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  the  5,000  or  more  plants  used  to  decorate  the 
White  House  at  a  single  reception  would  cost  at 
least  $2,500,  if  bought  in  the  open  market.  A 
single  set  of  china  used  at  the  big  state  dinners 
may  cost  as  much  as  $6,000.  When  the  supplies  for 
one  of  these  big  dinners  are  bought,  only  the  best 
things  in  the  market  get  into  the  White  House 
market  basket,  and  only  the  choicest  morsels  of 
these  are  served.  A  large  roast  of  lamb  is  pro- 
vided for  each  five  people  at  the  dinner  so  that 
only  the  most  select  bits  reach  the  table. 


8         THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  salary  of  the  President  now  amounts  to 
$75,000  a  year,  or  $6,250  a  month.  He  is  the  only 
official  of  the  Government  who  is  not  required  to 
sign  the  pay  roll.  In  the  time  of  President  Cleve- 
land the  salary  of  the  President  was  $4,166.66^ 
a  month.  So  accurate  is  the  Treasury  system  of 
bookkeeping  that  the  salary  check  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  drawn  for  $4,166.66  one  month  and 
$4,166.67  for  the  next  two  months.  At  the  end 
of  his  term  it  was  found  that  there  was  still  due 
President  Cleveland  the  amount  of  1  cent,  so  a 
check  for  that  amount  was  drawn  in  his  favor. 
It  has  never  been  cashed,  but  is  one  of  the  souve- 
nirs of  the  Cleveland  home  in  Princeton,  N.  J. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  is  one  of  the 
most  photographed  persons  in  the  world.  It  is 
said  that  one  Washington  photographer  has  taken 
more  than  a  thousand  pictures  of  President  Taft. 

The  quadrennial  election  at  which  the  American 
people  choose  their  President  for  the  ensuing 
four  years  is  the  greatest  political  battle  of  the 
world.  Investigation  discloses  the  fact  that  the 
names  of  more  than  700,000  candidates  are  on  the 
ballots  which  are  cast  the  day  of  a  presidential 
election.  Every  telegraph  and  telephone  company 
in  the  country  lends  itself  to  the  public  that  night 
for  the  transmission  of  the  returns.  No  one  has 
attempted  to  estimate  the  amount  of  business  they 
carry  over  their  wires  election  night,  but  if  paid 
for  at  the  usual  rate  it  would  cost  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars.    Even  the  wireless  compa- 


THE   PRESIDENT  9 

nies  make  special  efforts  to  keep  ships  at  sea  in- 
formed as  to  the  progress  of  the  count. 

The  President  is  inaugurated  about  four 
months  after  his  election.  While  a  presidential 
candidate  always  receives  notification  of  his  nomi- 
nation, the  President-elect  receives  no  such  advice, 
but  gets  his  information  from  the  newspapers, 
and  presents  himself  in  Washington  a  few  days 
before  his  inauguration.  A  presidential  inaugu- 
ration is  one  of  the  fiinest  governmental  specta- 
cles in  the  world.  Its  impressiveness  lies  in  its 
simplicity  rather  than  in  its  display.  Each  in- 
auguration is  on  a  larger  and  more  brilliant  scale 
than  its  predecessor.  Over  30,000  men  march  in 
a  present  day  inaugural  parade.  Nearly  200,000 
people  come  to  Washington  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  to  witness  it.  Daniel  Webster  said  of 
the  crowd  which  attended  the  first  inauguration  of 
Andrew  Jacnoon  that  it  was  ''a  multitude,  too 
many  to  be  fed  without  a  miracle,  and  that  it 
seemed  that  the  whole  Nation  rushed  to  the  Capi- 
tal." The  ''great  multitude"  was  computed  to 
be  about  8,000  people.  The  first  real  inaugural 
ball  occurred  when  James  Madison  came  into 
office.  The  crowd  which  attended  was  estimated 
at  400.  Provision  was  made  for  15,000  at  the 
Taft  inaugural  ball. 

George  Washington  had  to  borrow  $3,000  to 
defray  his  expenses  to  New  York,  where  his  in- 
auguration took  place.  When  he  arrived  at  the 
Federal  Hall  it  was  found  that  there  was  no  Bible 


10       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

in  the  building,  and  an  attendant  saved  the  day 
by  getting  one  from  a  Masonic  lodge  room  near- 
by. John  Adams  wrote  after  his  inauguration 
that  there  was  more  weeping  when  he  took  the 
oath  of  office  than  he  had  ever  witnessed  at  a 
tragedy,  but  whether  it  was  from  the  loss  of  a 
beloved  President  or  the  accession  of  an  unpopu- 
lar one,  he  could  not  say.  When  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Jefferson  he  moved  out  the  night  be- 
fore and  refused  to  ride  to  the  Capitol  with  his 
successor  or  even  to  welcome  him  to  the  White 
House.  President  Johnson  refused  to  meet  Gen- 
eral Grant,  it  having  come  to  his  ears  that 
General  Grant  had  said  he  would  not  ride  to  the 
Capitol  with  Johnson.  James  Monroe  was  the 
originator  of  the  custom  of  holding  the  inaugural 
ceremony  on  the  East  Portico  of  the  Capitol. 

After  a  President  is  inaugurated,  unless  the 
state  of  public  affairs  demands  the  convening  of 
an  extra  session  of  Congress,  he  has  but  little 
work  to  do  other  than  to  name  the  higher  offi- 
cials of  the  Government,  until  the  ensuing  fall, 
when  he  sends  his  first  annual  message  to  Con- 
gress. In  it  the  President  outlines  in  full  his  poli- 
cies, and  tries  to  win  the  approval  of  the  Nation 
by  its  contents.  In  order  that  it  may  be  as  widely 
circulated  as  possible,  he  has  copies  of  it  sent  into 
every  newspaper  office  in  the  country  before  it  is 
officially  published,  and  linotype  operators  from 
Maine  to  Mexico  read  the  message  before  it 
reaches  Congress.    The  moment  its  reading  is  be- 


THE   PRESIDENT  11 

gun  in  the  halls  of  Congress  every  newspaper  is 
informed  that  the  message  is  "released,"  where- 
upon the  paper  goes  upon  the  street  within  a  few 
minutes,  containing  the  whole  thing. 

Great  care  is  taken  to  prevent  a  premature 
publication  of  a  presidential  message.  There  has 
never  been  a  leak  through  a  newspaper  betraying 
the  confidence  reposed  in  it,  but  there  have  been 
leaks  otherwise.  During  the  Harrison  adminis- 
tration an  employee  of  the  Government  Printing 
Office  sold  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Washington  corre- 
spondent of  a  New  York  newspaper.  During  the 
Roosevelt  administration  the  President  himself 
sent  advance  copies  to  the  magazines,  and  some 
of  these  took  the  message  into  Wall  Street  before 
it  was  officially  released. 

President  Roosevelt  was  the  champion  message 
writer  of  American  history.  He  wrote  more  than 
twice  as  many  messages  as  were  written  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland,  and  it  is  said  that  if  the  vocabu- 
laries of  all  the  other  Presidents  were  boiled 
down  into  one  composite  whole,  it  would  be  found 
that  he  used  a  greater  range  of  words  in  express- 
ing his  views  than  all  of  the  others  together. 

The  literary  merit  of  McKinley's  messages  im- 
proved after  John  Hay  became  his  ranking  ad- 
viser, and  the  literary  folk  say  that  even  Wash- 
ington's Farewell  Address  shows  a  good  deal  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  in  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan  has  the  original  letter  writ- 
ten by  George  Washington  to  James  Madison 


12       TIIE  AMEEICAN   GOVERNMENT 

asking  him  to  prepare  the  Farewell  Address  and 
outlining  completely  the  proposed  paper.  James 
Madison  also  wrote  the  famous  nullification  proc- 
lamation issued  by  Andrew  Jackson.  What  is 
perhaps  the  finest  message  in  the  history  of  the 
presidency  is  credited  to  Andrew  Johnson,  who 
had  fewer  educational  advantages  than  any  other 
man  who  has  ever  been  President  of  the  United 
States.  However,  it  was  written  by  George  Ban- 
croft, the  historian.  The  original  draft  is  now  in 
the  Manuscript  Division  of  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress, in  Bancroft's  handwriting,  with  only  a  few 
unimportant  additions  and  references  added  in 
the  hand  of  President  Johnson. 

Sometimes  a  presidential  message  declares  a 
principle  which  comes  to  be  universally  accepted 
as  fundamental,  and  thus  becomes  as  much  a  part 
of  the  organic  law  as  if  it  had  been  incorporated 
in  the  Constitution  itself.  An  instance  of  this  is 
the  Monroe  doctrine.  When  in  one  of  his  mes- 
sages President  Monroe  declared  that  the  United 
States  would  not  tolerate  further  extension  of 
European  dominions  in  the  Western  World,  he 
laid  down  a  principle  ever  since  accepted  as  a  car- 
dinal precept  of  American  diplomacy. 

President  Taft,  in  six  years  of  speechmaking, 
before  and  after  becoming  President,  has  uttered 
nearly  2,000,000  words  in  his  public  addresses.  A 
stenographer  always  goes  with  him  to  take  down 
his  speeches  exactly  as  they  are  delivered.  This 
stenographer   afterwards    transcribes   his    notes 


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THE   PRESIDENT  13 

and  files  the  typewritten  copies  away.  When 
enough  have  accumulated  to  make  a  400-page 
volume,  they  are  sent  to  the  Government  Print- 
ing Office  to  be  bound.  Already  President  Taft 
has  more  than  20  volumes  of  bound  speeches. 
Each  of  these  volumes  contains  nearly  twice  as 
much  as  this  book. 


CHAPTER  n. 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE. 

The  Department  of  State  employs  the  smallest 
force  of  any  department  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, but  it  is  first  in  rank  among  them,  and  its 
official  head  is  regarded  as  the  premier  of  the 
Cabinet.  As  a  rule,  when  the  President  makes 
up  his  official  family,  he  selects  the  ablest  man  he 
can  get  for  the  State  portfolio.  If  there  should 
ever  come  a  time  when  both  the  President  and 
the  Vice  President  should  die  or  in  any  other 
way  become  unable  to  serve  as  Chief  Executive, 
the  Secretary  of  State  would  become  President, 
provided  he  were  constitutionally  eligible  to  that 
office.  Should  he  not  be  eligible,  the  position  of 
President  would  pass  to  the  next  lower  Cabinet 
officer,  and  so  on  down  the  list,  until  one  was 
found  who  did  possess  the  necessary  constitu- 
tional qualifications  to  become  President.  The 
presidential  succession  act  was  passed  before  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  Department 
of  Commerce  and  Labor  were  established,  hence 
there  is  no  provision  by  which  the  heads  of  these 
two  departments  could  succeed  to  the  Presidency 
by  reason  of  the  disability  of  any  Cabinet  officer 
above  them. 

14 


THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   STATE       15 

The  Secretary  of  State  takes  official  precedence 
in  the  Cabinet,  and  usually  holds  first  position  in 
influence  as  well.  There  have  been  a  few  in- 
stances, however,  where  he  has  yielded  first  place 
in  influence  to  the  head  of  another  department. 

The  Department  of  State  has  its  official  head- 
quarters in  Washington,  but  the  larger  portion 
of  its  activities  are  conducted  in  other  countries. 
The  Diplomatic  and  Consular  services  represent 
the  most  important  work  of  the  department,  and 
while  the  plans  are  mapped  out  in  Washington 
they  are  largely  executed  abroad.  It  was  found 
advisable  from  the  earliest  history  of  the  Ameri- 
can Colonies  to  have  representatives  in  Europe, 
whose  mission  it  was  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  the  Colonies  abroad.  Benjamin  Franklin  was 
a  diplomatic  agent  of  some  of  the  American  Colo- 
nies before  the  Revolution. 

In  order  that  they  may  be  in  a  position  to  do 
their  most  effective  work  in  the  transaction  of 
difficult  diplomatic  business,  the  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  in  foreign  coun- 
tries are  supposed  to  keep  in  close  touch  with 
the  officials  of  the  country  to  which  they  are  ac- 
credited, and  to  be  on  terms  of  friendship  with 
the  foreign  officials  with  whom  they  have  to  deal. 

A  few  of  the  leading  countries  send  ambassa- 
dors to  Washington,  and  the  United  States  sends 
officials  of  like  rank  to  their  capitals  in  turn.  An 
ambassador  is  the  personal  representative  of  the 
ruler  of  the  country  from  which  he  comes,  and  is 


16       THE   AMERICAN    GOVERNMENT 

supposed  to  have  the  same  standing  with  the 
Government  to  which  he  is  accredited  that  the 
ruler  who  appoints  him  would  have.  As  the  per- 
sonal representative  of  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  an  American  ambassador  is  supposed 
to  have  access  at  all  times  to  the  person  of  the 
ruler  of  the  Government  to  which  he  is  accredited. 

If  he  is  to  make  the  most  of  his  position  he 
must  be  well  fitted  for  taking  a  leading  part  in 
the  social  affairs  of  the  official  set  of  the  capital 
at  which  he  is  stationed,  and  this  calls  for  ex- 
penditures far  in  excess  of  his  salary  as  ambassa- 
dor. It  is  said  that  Ambassador  Reid,  in  maintain- 
ing the  American  Embassy  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James,  spends  $250,000  a  year — more  than  ten 
times  his  salary.  This  means,  of  course,  that 
only  men  of  wealth  can  fill  these  important  posi- 
tions. 

It  is  the  hope  of  those  who  wish  to  see  Ameri- 
can citizens  eligible  to  these  positions  without 
reference  to  their  wealth,  that  the  United  States 
ultimately  will  supply  embassy  and  legation 
buildings,  and  also  funds  for  representation,  in- 
cluding necessary  official  entertaining,  etc. 

The  diplomatic  representatives  next  in  rank 
are  the  ministers,  officially  designated  as  envoys 
extraordinary  and  ministers  plenipotentiary. 
These  are  stationed  in  countries  which  send  min- 
isters rather  than  ambassadors  to  Washington. 
Their  official  residences  are  known  as  legations. 
Usually  a  minister  spends  fully  as  much  as  his 


THE   DEPAETMENT   OF   STATE       17 

salary  in  the  endless  round  of  entertaining  which 
is  regarded  as  an  essential,  although  not  an  offi- 
cial, part  of  a  minister's  duties. 

The  Consular  Service  deals  with  problems  of 
commerce  arising  in  foreign  countries  as  distin- 
guished from  problems  of  statecraft  handled  by 
the  Diplomatic  Service.  There  are  about  700  con- 
sular officers  of  the  United  States  scattered 
throughout  the  countries  of  the  world.  They  are 
America's  lookouts  on  the  watchtowers  of  inter- 
national trade.  Few  nations  enjoy  such  exten- 
sive business  abroad  as  the  United  States,  our 
foreign  trade  now  aggregating  more  than  $3,000,- 
000,000  a  year.  The  men  in  the  Consular  Service 
are  continually  spying  out  new  promised  lands 
of  commercial  opportunity,  and  seeking  for  every 
kind  of  data  which  will  enable  the  American 
export  business  to  continue  its  growth. 

Not  long  ago  a  New  England  manufacturer  of 
knives  asked  the  Consular  Service  for  a  list  of 
retail  dealers  in  cutlery  in  England.  He  got  the 
list  and  is  now  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle  by 
shipping  American  knives  to  Sheffield.  In  an- 
other case  the  Department  of  State  sent  a  new 
office  safe  to  a  certain  consular  office  abroad. 
Since  then  more  than  50  duplicates  of  this  safe 
have  been  ordered  from  the  American  manufac- 
turer by  foreign  business  men  who  saw  the  one  in 
the  consular  office.  The  Department  of  State 
points  with  pride  to  the  success  of  the  American 
foreign  service  in  securing  a  single  order  amount- 


18       THE   AMERICAN    GO\^RNMENT 

ing  to  $23,000,000  for  battleships  and  armament 
from  Argentina. 

The  office  of  consul  is  not  a  bed  of  roses.  If  a 
consul  expects  to  get  ahead,  he  must  keep  his  eyes 
open.  He  has  keen  competition  from  the  consu- 
lar officers  of  other  Governments,  and  often  his 
salary  is  small  in  comparison  to  the  services  ren- 
dered. There  are  American  consulates  in  all 
trade  centers  and  some  in  very  remote  places. 
Probably  the  most  inaccessible  of  the  American 
consulates  is  that  at  Chung  King,  far  back  in  the 
interior  of  China,  almost  on  the  frontier  of  Thi- 
bet. To  reach  it  requires  six  weeks'  travel  from 
Shanghai  by  river.  Much  of  the  distance  is  trav- 
ersed in  a  small  river  boat,  pulled  by  a  hundred 
Chinese  coolies,  who  are  paid  a  cent  a  day  each. 
So  deep  are  some  of  the  gorges  in  this  water 
route  that  at  times  the  towing  ropes  seem  to 
stand  straight  up  in  the  air. 

Foreign  Governments  consider  the  American 
Consular  Service  the  best  in  the  world.  They 
are  constantly  using  it  as  an  example  of  effi- 
ciency which  they  would  have  their  own  consular 
representatives  emulate.  During  recent  years 
there  has  been  a  determined  effort  to  promote 
the  efficiency  of  the  service.  President  Cleveland 
first  took  active  steps  toward  applying  the  merit 
system  in  the  appointm.ent  of  consular  represen- 
tatives. Prior  to  that  time,  consular  positions  were 
regarded  as  a  part  of  the  spoils  of  political  war- 
fare, and  were  filled  more  for  the  purpose  of  pay- 


THE   DEPABTMENT   OF   STATE       19 

ing  off  political  obligations  than  with  a  view  of  se- 
curingthe  highest  possible  type  of  men  to  fill  them. 
President  McKinley  added  strength  to  the  policy 
begun  by  his  predecessor,  and  President  Roose- 
velt in  1906  and  1907  effected  sweeping  reforms, 
reorganizing  the  Consular  Service,  and  providing 
for  comprehensive  competitive  examinations.  His 
aim  was  to  have  merit  applied,  both  with  respect 
to  appointment  and  promotion  in  the  service. 
President  Taft  has  extended  the  same  system  of 
appointment  and  promotion  to  the  Diplomatic 
Service,  up  to  the  grade  of  ministers. 

In  former  years  it  was  customary  for  consular 
representatives  to  charge  fees  for  their  service. 
Under  that  system  many  positions  were  worth  a 
great  deal  to  the  incumbents.  The  consul  gen- 
eralship at  London  usually  paid  from  $25,000  to 
$30,000  a  year.  The  Paris  consulate  general  was 
a  splendid  berth,  and  in  exposition  years  was 
worth  about  $100,000  to  the  man  fortunate 
enough  to  hold  it.  To-day  all  fees  are  turned  into 
the  United  States  Treasury,  and  the  consular  of- 
ficers are  paid  specific  salaries.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  this  general  statement  is  that  consular 
agents,  who  are  simply  men  who  perform  consu- 
lar services  in  communities  where  it  would  not 
be  profitable  to  maintain  a  regular  consulate,  are 
allowed  half  the  fees  they  collect  up  to  the  sum 
of  $1,000,  in  payment  for  the  services  they  ren- 
der. The  collections  in  consular  agencies  seldom 
exceed  $200  a  year.    The  consular  agent  is  usu- 


20       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ally  some  established  business  man  in  his  com- 
munity who  carries  the  agency  as  a  side  line.  The 
result  is  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  sometimes 
float  over  strange  places.  It  has  not  been  many 
years  since  the  consular  agent  of  our  great  Re- 
public stationed  in  a  South  American  city  had 
his  oflSce  in  a  laundry. 

Although  the  Consular  Service  has  given  a  fine 
account  of  itself  in  the  past,  it  has  done  so  largely 
in  spite  of  the  indifference  of  American  exporters 
to  the  necessity  of  meeting  foreign  conditions 
where  they  desire  to  build  up  an  export  trade. 
The  average  American  manufacturer  seems  totally 
indifferent  in  the  packing  of  goods,  and  as  a  re- 
sult much  of  that  which  he  does  export  reaches  its 
destination  in  a  damaged  condition.  On  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  of  Latin  America  it  seems  that  the 
words,  *' handle  with  care,"  mean  to  the  Indians 
an  equivalent  of  ^' throw  it  down  hard."  The 
result  is  that  many  a  costly  piece  of  machinery 
is  broken  in  transit,  and  long  delays  are  the  re- 
sult. One  may  stand  by  the  rail  on  a  Pacific 
Coast  steamer  unloading  into  lighters  and  recog- 
nize every  piece  of  American  goods  by  the  char- 
acter of  its  packing.  The  Consular  Service  is 
constantly  urging  the  American  exporters  to  meet 
the  essential  conditions  of  foreign  trade,  but 
largely  without  success.  Although  the  annual  ex- 
ports now  aggregate  more  than  $2,000,000,000, 
they  are  small  when  compared  upon  a  per  capita 
basis  with  the  exports  of  other  countries.    If  we 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


THE   DEPAETMENT   OF   STATE       21 

exported  as  mucli  per  capita  as  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands,  we  would  ship  $12,000,000,000  worth 
of  goods  to  other  countries  each  year.  If  we 
sold  as  much  per  capita  as  the  people  of  Belgium, 
we  would  have  more  than  five  times  as  large  an 
export  trade  as  we  have  to-day.  If  we  exported 
as  much  per  capita  as  Argentina,  our  export 
trade  would  total  more  than  $5,000,000,000  a  year. 

In  its  efforts  to  make  the  Diplomatic  and  Con- 
sular Services  thoroughly  efficient,  a  sort  of  for- 
eign-service school  has  been  established  at  the 
Department  of  State,  and  those  receiving  ap- 
pointments attend  this  school  for  at  least  30 
days.  Here  they  are  given  a  course  of  lectures 
and  instructions  by  experienced  and  competent 
men  upon  the  duties  of  foreign  representatives. 
They  learn  how  to  certify  invoices ;  how  to  watch 
out  for  would-be  smugglers  in  their  prospective 
fields  of  work ;  how  to  prepare  quarantine  papers, 
which  will  entitle  ships  sailing  from  their  ports 
to  land  their  passengers  in  American  ports ;  how 
to  settle  the  estates  of  Americans  dying  abroad; 
what  are  a  consul's  duties  with  respect  to  the 
merchant  marine,  and  what  relief  the  law  requires 
a  consul  to  afford  to  stranded  sailors  in  foreign 
ports. 

The  activities  of  a  consulate  cover  a  wide 
range.  Consuls  usually  keep  a  complete  list  of 
all  American  citizens  residing  either  temporarily 
or  permanently  in  their  jurisdiction ;  their  offices 
serve  as  post  offices   for  traveling  Americans; 


22       THE   AIMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

and  they  do  everything  within  their  power  to 
assist  their  fellow  citizens  abroad.  They  make 
extensive  reports  to  the  Government  at  Washing- 
ton concerning  all  sorts  of  commercial  opportuni- 
ties, and  this  information  is  placed  on  file  or  pub- 
lished, as  conditions  may  warrant,  and  is  put  at 
the  disposal  of  every  interested  American. 

There  are  a  great  many  matters  in  which  the 
Department  of  State  comes  into  direct  contact 
with  individual  citizens.  When  Americans  are 
deprived  of  their  treaty  rights  abroad,  or  those 
of  aliens  are  infringed  upon  in  the  United  States, 
the  department  conducts  the  resulting  interna- 
tional correspondence.  If  a  zealous  constable 
should  happen  to  arrest  a  foreign  diplomat  for 
an  infraction  of  the  speed  law  of  some  small 
American  village,  the  matter  would  be  taken  up 
and  satisfactorily  adjusted  by  the  Department  of 
State.  If  an  American  residing  in  some  foreign 
country  finds  himself  being  deprived  of  his  prop- 
erty or  his  liberty  unlawfully,  he  appeals  to  the 
department  to  protect  his  rights.  When  Con- 
gress wishes  information  about  any  sort  of  con- 
ditions in  foreign  countries,  the  department  acts 
as  its  agent  in  gathering  it.  Likewise,  when  any 
foreign  Government  wishes  to  know  anything 
about  American  railroad  or  banking  systems, 
American  marriage  and  divorce  laws,  or  other 
matters,  it  appeals  to  the  Department  of  State 
for  the  data  it  desires.  When  cases  are  tried  in 
the  courts  of  one  country  and  testimony  is  de- 


THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   STATE        23 

sired  from  another  country,  it  issues  the  letters 
rogatory  through  which  it  is  secured. 

The  department,  under  the  direction  of  the 
President,  negotiates  all  treaties,  attends  to  all 
matters  of  extradition,  and  has  charge  of  all  for- 
eign and  international  tariff  relations.  When  an 
American  or  a  foreigner  commits  murder  abroad 
and  flees  to  the  United  States,  the  department  is- 
sues the  papers  which  enable  him  to  be  taken 
back  for  trial.  Likewise  when  a  murderer  in 
America  flees  to  a  foreign  country  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  acts  as  the  agent  of  the  American 
courts  in  bringing  him  back. 

All  matters  pertaining  to  the  American  end 
of  international  conferences  and  congresses  are 
arranged  through  the  Department  of  State.  Va- 
rious institutions,  such  as  missionary  societies, 
have  their  protection  assured  through  its  labors, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  establishment  of  schools,  hos- 
pitals, and  the  like.  The  department  maintains 
a  record  of  the  marriage  of  all  American  citi- 
zens abroad,  when  performed  in  the  presence  of 
American  consuls,  and  also  of  all  Am  rican  chil- 
dren born  abroad.  Many  Americans  use  the 
agencies  of  the  Department  of  State  to  ascertain 
the  whereabouts  or  fate  of  friends  and  relatives 
who  have  dropped  out  of  sight.  For  instance,  an 
electrical  engineer  goes  to  South  America  and 
his  friends  lose  track  of  him.  When  they  appeal 
to  the  department  it  uses  its  entire  machinery  in 
the  effort  to  locate  the  missing  man. 


24      THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  Department  of  State  has  charge  of  the 
publication  and  distribution  of  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress, so  as  to  make  them  accessible  to  all  men 
and  to  forestall  any  excuse  for  the  plea  of  ignor- 
ance of  the  law.  "When  an  amendment  to  the 
Federal  Constitution  is  adopted,  it  becomes  the 
duty  of  the  Department  of  State  to  promulgate 
it,  and  its  Secretary  proclaims  the  admission  of 
new  States  into  the  Union.  He  is  also  a  medium 
of  correspondence  between  the  President  and  the 
governors  of  the  several  States.  He  has  custody 
of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,  which  he 
aflSxes  to  all  Executive  proclamations,  to  various 
commissions,  and  to  warrants  for  the  extradition 
of  fugitives  from  justice.  The  original  copies  of 
all  laws  in  force  in  the  United  States  are  filed 
with  him  for  permanent  keeping. 

The  card  index  of  the  Department  of  State 
covers  diplomatic  matters  and  all  matters  in 
which  the  Consular  Service  has  a  hand  as  well. 
Through  this  index  the  State  Department  offi- 
cials have  at  their  finger-tips  a  million  things 
which,  without  it,  would  be  needles  in  haystacks 
of  voluminous  records.  The  smallest  and  seem- 
ingly the  most  insignificant  matter  of  to-day  may 
affect  the  diplomacy  of  the  world  a  decade  hence. 
It  is  important  that  information  concerning  these 
things  be  filed  away,  and  equally  important  that 
it  be  made  readily  accessible  when  needed.  That 
the  volume  of  this  information  is  large  is  demon- 
Btrated  by  the  fact   that  it  has  required  nearly 


THE   DEPAETMENT   OF   STATE        25 

half  a  million  cards  to  index  the  matter  accumu- 
lated in  four  years.  That  it  covers  a  wide  range 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  may  relate  to  an  in- 
ternational situation  affecting  all  of  the  Govern- 
ments of  the  earth,  or  to  the  registration  of  the 
marriage  of  John  Smith  and  Susie  Brown  in 
Paris  or  Singapore. 

This  index  also  serves  as  a  sort  of  diplomatic 
''who's  who"  of  the  world.  For  instance,  when 
any  other  nation  appoints  one  of  its  citizens  on 
a  hoard  or  court  of  arbitration,  it  is  very  desir- 
able for  the  United  States  to  know  the  antece- 
dents of  that  person,  and  to  be  sure  that  he  is 
fitted  for  such  a  position.  The  Department  of 
State  needs  only  to  look  at  its  card  index  to  de- 
termine this  matter.  Again,  when  another  coun- 
try sends  an  ambassador  or  a  minister  to  Wash- 
ington, it  is  essential  that  the  United  States 
should  know  whether  or  not  he  will  be  persona 
grata.  Here  again  the  great  card  index  answers 
all  questions. 

The  Department  of  State  possesses  the  only 
fund  in  the  administration  of  which  no  account- 
ing to  the  people  of  the  country  is  required.  This 
is  known  as  the  contingent  fund,  and  amounts  to 
about  $100,000  a  year.  It  is  used  for  the  purpose 
of  enabling  the  Secretary  of  State  to  keep  a  close 
watch  on  affairs  in  other  nations,  in  order  that 
the  United  States  may  at  all  times  be  apprised 
of  any  foreign  developments  which  might  affect 
its  interests.    If  the  Secretary  were  required  to 


26       THE   AMERICA2T   GOVERNMENT 

present  an  itemized  statement  of  the  expendi- 
tures of  this  fund  to  Congress  and  to  the  people 
of  the  country,  there  would  be  no  means  of  keep- 
ing this  work  secret,  and  that  fact  alone  might 
result  in  foreign  complications.  Another  charge 
against  this  fund  is  the  expense  of  entertaining 
the  guests  of  the  Nation.  When  a  foreign  digni- 
tary like  Admiral  Togo  visits  this  country,  he  is 
made  the  guest  of  the  Nation,  and  representatives 
of  the  President  and  the  Department  of  State  are 
among  those  who  welcome  him.  It  is  intended  to 
have  a  suite  of  apartments  in  the  new  State  De- 
partment Building  where  these  honored  guests 
may  be  quartered  during  their  stay  in  the  Na- 
tion's CapitaL 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   TREASUEY. 

The  Treasury  Department  of  the  United 
States  Government  handles  more  money  than 
any  other  one  institution  on  earth.  As  the  na- 
tional tax  collector,  as  the  supervisor  of  the  na- 
tional-banking system,  as  the  conservor  of  the 
national  credit,  and  as  the  guardian  of  the  finan- 
cial resources  of  the  country,  the  Treasury  De- 
partment occupies  a  position  of  unique  impor- 
tance. 

The  Treasury  Department  collects  all  taxes 
levied  by  Congress  for  the  support  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  and  expends  the  money  thus 
collected  upon  the  order  of  Congress.  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  as  the  head  of  the  de- 
partment, at  the  beginning  of  each  regular  an- 
nual session  of  Congress  advises  that  body  what 
amount  of  money  will  be  needed  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  governmental  machine  for  the  next 
fiscal  year,  giving  his  estimates  in  detail. 

The  department  not  only  acts  as  the  fiscal 
agent  of  the  Government,  but  it  has  direct  con- 
trol of  the  currency  of  the  Nation,  mints  its 
coins,  prints  its  paper  money  and  its  postage 

27 


28       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

and  revenue  stamps,  and  protects  the  people  from 
counterfeiters. 

Other  activities  of  the  department  include  the 
maintenance  of  a  fleet  of  armed  vessels  for  the 
suppression  of  smuggling  and  the  enforcement  of 
the  quarantine  laws,  the  Life-Saving  Service,  the 
Public  Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service,  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  all  public  build- 
ings, and  the  audit  and  control  of  the  accounts  of 
the  other  executive  departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  work  of  this 
department  is  that  of  making  money.  For  the 
making  of  its  paper  money  it  maintains  an  estab- 
lishment known  as  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and 
Printing,  in  which  an  average  of  fully  a  million 
dollars  a  day  is  printed.  The  paper  used  is  of 
the  toughest  linen,  made  by  a  secret  process. 
The  flax  from  which  it  comes  may  once  have 
been  the  garments  of  babes,  the  confirmation 
robes  of  children,  or  the  graduation  gowns 
of  girls.  After  it  reaches  the  rag  bag  it  goes 
to  the  paper  makers.  Perhaps  it  comes  back 
as  money  and  dowers  the  bride  who  wore  it  as 
a  baby. 

The  plates  from  which  money  is  printed  are 
made  with  the  most  exacting  care.  The  public  is 
not  permitted  to  see  the  engravers  at  work,  nor 
does  any  one  engraver  prepare  a  whole  plate.  It 
usually  takes  about  a  year  of  continuous  work  to 
complete  one  of  the  original  plates.    The  money 


THE   TREASURY  29 

is  never  printed  from  these  originals,  but  by  du- 
plicates made  from  them  by  a  mechanical  process. 
If  this  were  not  so  it  would  be  practically  im- 
possible to  detect  counterfeiting.  The  j&ne  lines 
on  the  paper  money  were  made  upon  the  original 
plates  by  a  geometric  machine  which  has  as  many 
combinations  as  the  best  safe  lock,  each  combina- 
tion producing  a  different  design.  Until  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  counterfeit  Monroe  head  hun- 
dred-dollar bill  in  1897,  it  was  thought  that  these 
lines  could  not  be  imitated.  The  portrait  on  a 
bill  is  regarded  as  the  best  guarantee  against 
counterfeiting. 

One  of  the  most  thorough  systems  of  account- 
ing in  the  world  has  been  installed  to  insure  the 
Government  against  loss  during  the  process  of 
printing.  Out  of  the  million  or  more  dollars  of 
paper  currency  printed  every  working  day  in  the 
year,  only  one  piece  of  paper  went  astray  in  15 
years.  The  officials  of  the  bureau  were  mor- 
ally certain  that  this  was  lost,  but  the  workmen 
in  the  room  where  it  disappeared  had  to  pay  its 
printed  value.  Each  bill  contains  many  symbols 
which  tell  the  initiated  what  plate  it  was  printed 
from,  who  engraved  the  plate,  who  printed  the 
bill,  and  the  like.  It  requires  about  30  days 
to  complete  the  intricat.e  processes  of  getting  a 
piece  of  paper  money  ready  for  circulation,  dur- 
ing which  time  it  is  counted  more  than  50  times. 
It  costs  the  Government  about  li/^  cents  to  issue 
and  redeem  each  note,  and  less  than  one-fifth  of 


30       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

1  per  cent  to  maintain  the  paper  circulation  of 
the  country. 

One-half  of  1  per  cent  of  the  money  going  out 
never  gets  back.  Uncle  Sam  is  the  gainer  every 
time  a  piece  of  paper  moneyis  lost,f  or  he  will  never 
be  under  the  necessity  of  redeeming  it  with  good 
hard  gold.  He  maintains  a  force  in  the  redemp- 
tion bureau  where  torn,  burned,  or  otherwise 
damaged  currency  may  be  redeemed.  If  three- 
fifths  of  a  damaged  note  is  sent  in,  the  bill  may 
be  redeemed  at  face  value;  if  less  than  three- 
fifths  and  more  than  two-fifths  be  sent,  half  value 
will  be  given.  Any  part  less  than  three-fifths  is 
not  redeemable  unless  proof  be  brought  in 
showing  that  the  rest  was  destroyed.  Prom  the 
San  Francisco  fire  came  many  charred  notes,  a 
majority  of  which  were  redeemed,  while  bits  of 
cloth  taken  from  a  cow's  stomach,  and  tiny  shreds 
of  green  and  yellow  paper  from  a  thrashing  ma- 
chine have  proved  to  be  redeemable  currency 
when  brought  under  the  keen  eyes  of  Government 
experts. 

The  average  life  of  paper  money  in  the  United 
States  is  less  than  three  years.  The  low  denomi- 
nation silver  certificates  get  into  the  macerator, 
the  machine  with  which  worn-out  money  is  de- 
stroyed, and  which  chews  up  a  million  dollars  at 
a  mouthful,  in  one  and  one-half  years  after  they 
start  their  rounds  of  the  pocketbooks  of  the  coun- 
try. Treasury  notes  reach  their  allotted  term  of  life 
in  two  years,  while  the  average  yellow-back  gold 


THE   TREASURY  31 

certificate  is  able  to  continue  its  travels  for  three 
years.  The  largest  piece  of  paper  money  printed 
is  the  ten-thousand-dollar  note.  Four  thousand 
of  these  were  issued,  of  which  only  641  have  ever 
come  back  for  redemption.  Notes  of  the  thou- 
sand-dollar denomination  are  highly  prized  by  the 
big  banks,  as  they  occupy  very  little  space  in  the 
vaults  and  are  easily  counted.  Twelve  pounds  of 
ten-thousand-dollar  notes  would  take  the  place  of 
2,000  tons  of  silver  in  a  bank  vault. 

The  seal  which  appears  on  the  paper  money  of 
the  United  States  is  a  relic  of  days  antedating  the 
Constitution.  The  words  abbreviated  are  ''The- 
sauri Americana  Septentriomalis  Sigillum."  In 
English  these  words  mean  "seal  of  the  Treasury 
of  North  America."  To  the  well  informed  in  his- 
tory this  tells  of  a  time  in  American  events  when 
it  was  hoped  that  Canada  would  become  a  part  of 
the  United  States.  The  die  from  which  the  pres- 
ent seals  are  made  was  prepared  in  1849. 

The  processes  of  coining  metallic  money  are  no 
less  interesting  than  those  of  making  paper 
money.  Anyone  may  take  gold  to  the  United 
States  Mint  and  have  it  coined.  After  the  metal 
has  been  assayed  to  ascertain  its  degree  of  purity, 
it  is  next  put  through  a  process  which  removes  all 
foreign  material  from  it.  As  pure  gold  would 
be  too  soft  for  money,  an  alloy  is  then  added  to 
give  it  the  proper  degree  of  hardness.  It  is  next 
put  throuirh  what  is  known  as  an  annealing  proc- 
ess, in  which  it  is    run    between    rollers,    heated 


32       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

and  worked  over  again,  and  put  through  rollers 
once  more,  until  it  becomes  a  thin  bar  of  gold. 
This  in  turn  is  put  through  a  giant  stamping  ma- 
chine, which  acts  like  a  huge  cake  cutter,  cutting 
hundreds  of  little  golden  cookies  out  of  the  bars 
of  gold.  These  little  golden  cakes  are  next  put 
into  a  huge  squeezing  machine,  with  engraved  dies 
above  and  below  them,  and  are  squeezed  with  a 
pressure  of  275  pounds.  When  they  come  out 
they  are  money.  The  same  process  is  used  in  the 
making  of  silver,  nickel,  and  copper  coin. 

The  Government  makes  a  profit  on  all  coins 
except  those  of  gold.  The  difference  between  the 
actual  value  of  the  metal  in  a  coin  and  the  face 
value  of  the  coin  is  known  as  seigniorage.  The 
metal  in  a  1-cent  piece  is  worth  only  a  small  frac- 
tion of  its  face  value.  The  remainder  represents 
a  clear  profit  to  the  Government.  Every  time  a 
coin  is  lost  Uncle  Sam  makes  the  difference  be- 
tween its  actual  value  and  its  face  value.  How 
many  of  these  get  lost  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
although  the  little  half -cent  pieces  that  were  issued 
many  years  ago  are  very  seldom  seen  nowadays, 
over  8,000,000  have  never  been  returned  to  the 
Treasury.  It  is  estimated  that  6,000,000  of  these 
have  been  lost  forever.  The  2-  and  3-cent  pieces 
are  also  unusually  scarce,  and  yet  more  than  a 
million  dollars'  worth  of  them  have  never  come 
back  to  the  Treasury. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  bureaus  under  the 
Treasury  Department  is  that  known  as  the  Secret 


THE   TREASURY  33 

Service.  Its  main  work  is  to  gnard  the  currency 
of  the  country  against  counterfeiting.  It  is  said 
that  the  best  guardians  of  the  currency  are  the 
tellers  in  the  banks,  and  that  more  than  nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  counterfeit  money  discovered  in 
circulation  is  detected  by  them.  The  counter- 
feiter of  to-day  takes  advantage  of  every  modem 
process  in  his  work,  and  by  using  photomechani- 
cal methods  is  able  to  produce  results  that  can  be 
detected  only  by  the  skilled  handler  of  money. 
How  comparatively  little  counterfeit  money  there 
is  in  circulation  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  out  of 
some  $3,000,000,000  which  passed  through  the 
hands  of  Treasury  officials,  less  than  $12,000 
worth  of  bad  money  was  found.  After  the  spuri- 
ous money  is  detected,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
Secret  Service  to  run  down  its  makers.  This 
often  requires  a  vast  amount  of  patience  and  keen 
detective  work  on  the  part  of  the  Secret  Service 
officials. 

There  are  cases  on  record  where  counterfeit 
coins  are  worth  more  than  those  which  they  imi- 
tate. In  former  times  platinum,  which  has  about 
the  same  weight  as  gold,  was  worth  only  one-third 
as  much  as  the  yellow  metal.  The  counterfeiter 
sawed  the  real  coin  into  three  sections,  substi- 
tuting for  the  middle  section  of  gold  a  layer  of 
platinum.  A  milling  machine  and  a  little  solder- 
ing did  the  rest.  Since  those  days  platinum  has 
increased  tremendously  in  value,  and  a  counter- 
feit coin  of  this  kind  now  is  worth  more  than  the 


34       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

genuine.  A  band  of  counterfeiters  in  Mexico 
coined  a  lot  of  silver  dollars.  When  these  were 
discovered  it  was  found  that  they  contained  $1.09 
worth  of  metal  each.  There  was  a  streak  of  gold 
in  the  silver,  and  they  did  not  know  it. 

The  United  States  Government  recognizes  the 
fact  that  the  moving-picture  show  may  prove  an 
incentive  to  crime,  and  prohibits  the  display  of 
films  showing  the  processes  of  counterfeiting. 
Not  long  ago  such  a  film  was  exhibited,  and  the 
Secret  Service  insisted  that  it  be  destroyed.  Men 
have  sometimes  been  arrested  for  passing  real 
money.  Not  long  ago  a  traveler  offered  a  hun- 
dred-dollar note  with  a  red  back  in  payment  of 
a  hotel  bill.  He  was  arrested  for  attempting  to 
pass  spurious  money.  The  bill  turned  out  to  have 
been  a  gold  certificate  of  1866.  There  is  another 
note  in  circulation  printed  only  on  one  side,  which 
not  one  man  in  a  thousand  would  cash  for  a 
stranger.  It  is  the  compound-interest  note  of 
1864,  and  is  worth  much  more  than  its  face  value. 

The  major  portion  of  the  revenues  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government  is  collected  by  the  customs  and 
internal  revenue  b^ir^aus  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. Since  the  foundation  of  the  Government, 
approximately  $10,000,000,000  have  come  into  the 
Treasury  through  the  customhouses  of  the  coun- 
try. Two-thirds  of  all  the  customs  business  of 
the  United  States  is  transacted  at  the  port  of 
New  York,  where  it  costs  2  cents  to  collect  each 
dollar  of  customs  duties.    There  are  a  number  of 


THE   TREASURY  35 

other  customhouses,  usually  located  at  important 
cities  along  the  coast  and  along  the  frontiers, 
while  others  are  found  at  smaller  towns.  At 
Beaufort,  N.  C,  it  costs  $1,500  to  collect  $1.55, 
and  at  a  Maryland  port  it  costs  $1,000  to  collect 
61  cents. 

Elaborate  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  the 
smuggling  into  the  United  States  of  goods  prop- 
erly subject  to  tariff  duties.  Men  conceal  dia- 
monds in  secret  holes  in  the  heels  of  their  shoes, 
women  convert  their  bodies  into  huge  spools  for 
rare  laces  and  silks,  or  sew  Chicago  or  New  York 
tags  on  Paris  gowns  in  order  to  escape  the  pay- 
ment of  duties;  while  vessel  owners  sometimes 
attempt  to  land  dutiable  goods  at  places  where 
there  are  no  customhouses.  The  Secret  Service 
keeps  a  card  index  of  every  known  smuggler  in 
the  world,  and  closely  follows  his  movements. 
Reports  of  all  big  purchases  of  jewels  or  other 
valuables  abroad  are  made  to  the  Treasury  De- 
partment by  its  foreign  agents,  and  its  officers 
keep  watch  for  these  goods  on  every  ship  that 
comes  into  port. 

The  tariff  laws  of  the  country  afford  many 
anomalies.  For  instance,  pearls  come  into  the 
United  States  as  precious  stones,  dutiable  at  10 
per  cent,  when  unstrung.  When  strung,  they  are 
passed  as  jewelry,  dutiable  at  60  per  cent.  Some 
years  ago  there  was  a  steady  importation  of 
pearls  and  the  customs  authorities  concluded  they 
were  to  be  used  as  a  single  strand.    The  author'- 


36       THE   AMERICAN   GOVEENMENT 

ties  held  that  the  mere  presence  or  absence  of  a 
string  did  not  determine  whether  they  were  strung 
or  unstrung  pearls,  but  that  the  determining  fac- 
tor was  Avhether  or  not  they  had  been  selected 
and  matched  for  the  purpose  of  making  them  into 
a  string  of  pearls.  Upon  this  theory  they  levied 
on  them  a  duty  of  $110,000.  The  importer  car- 
ried the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which  de- 
cided that  he  should  pay  only  $18,000.  Thus  the 
absence  of  a  string  saved  the  importer  $92,000. 
Another  anomaly  is  the  fact  that  a  piece  of  goods 
at  the  customhouse  may  be  linen  to-day  and  cot- 
ton to-morrow.  The  law  provides  that  textiles 
shall  be  rated  according  to  the  ingredient  of  prin- 
cipal value  in  them.  In  the  fluctuations  of  the 
market  the  linen  in  a  piece  of  mixed  goods  may 
be  worth  more  than  the  cotton  in  it  to-day,  while 
to-morrow  the  cotton  may  be  worth  more  than 
the  linen.  So  to-day  it  will  come  into  the  United 
States  as  a  piece  of  linen  and  to-morrow  as  a 
piece  of  cotton. 

The  Internal  Revenue  Bureau  is  the  second  best 
tax  collector  the  United  States  has.  Its  receipts 
amount  to  several  hundred  million  dollars  a  year. 
This  bureau  was  organized  in  the  early  history  of 
the  Government,  and  in  1791  a  tax  of  from  7  to  18 
cents  a  gallon  was  levied  on  whisky.  This  tax 
led  to  the  first  threatened  civil  war  in  America. 
The  distillers  of  western  Pennsylvania  did  not 
fancy  paying  it,  and  began  what  is  known  as  * '  the 
Whisky  Rebellion."     The  present  tax  is  $1.10  a 


THE   TREASURY  37 

gallon,  and  this  tends  to  make  moonshining  a 
profitable  business.  There  are  no  braver  men  in 
the  Government  service  than  the  revenue  agents 
whose  duty  it  is  to  seek  out  and  bring  moonshin- 
ers to  justice.  The  revenue  agent  who  is  seeking 
an  illicit  still  must  look  for  it  in  all  guises  and 
forms.  Some  years  ago  there  was  evidence  of 
illicit  whisky  in  a  certain  community,  and  the 
only  clew  to  the  place  of  manufacture  was  in  the 
fact  that  in  a  certain  piece  of  woodland  the  soot 
was  thicker  on  the  leaves  of  the  north  side  of  the 
tree  than  it  was  on  those  on  the  south  side.  After 
a  prolonged  search  the  revenue  agents  discovered 
traces  of  smoke  issuing  from  a  knot-hole  in  a  hol- 
low tree.  It  developed  that  this  tree  stood  over  a 
cave,  and  was  used  as  a  chimney  for  the  still. 

The  national-banking  system  of  the  United 
States,  comprising  nearly  8,000  banks,  is  under 
the  control  of  the  Treasury  Department.  The 
capital  of  these  banks  aggregates  nearly  a  billion 
dollars,  and  their  surplus  nearly  seven  hundred 
million.  They  have  outstanding  loans  and  dis- 
counts amounting  to  more  than  $5,000,000,000, 
and  their  total  deposits  aggregate  as  much  more. 
Much  of  the  money  in  circulation  in  the  United 
States  consists  of  national-bank  notes.  These  are 
printed  by  the  Treasury  Department  and  sent  to 
the  national  banks,  where  the  president  and  the 
cashier  sign  them  and  they  become  full-fledged 
pieces  of  paper  money.  The  bank  is  required  to 
deposit  with  the  Treasury  Department  Govern- 


38       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ment  bonds  equal  to  the  amount  of  the  notes  is- 
sued to  guarantee  the  redemption  of  these  notes. 

Although  the  national  banks  of  the  country 
play  such  a  large  part  in  its  fiscal  affairs,  only 
one-third  of  the  money  on  deposit  in  the  banks  of 
the  United  States  is  carried  in  the  national  banks. 
In  other  words,  the  people  of  the  United  States 
have  $15,000,000,000  to  their  credit  in  the  banks 
of  the  country.  There  is  a  total  of  only  slightly 
more  than  $3,000,000,000  of  money  in  circulation 
upon  any  given  date.  A  large  percentage  of  this 
is  in  the  pockets  of  the  people.  It  will  be  seen 
that,  upon  an  average,  every  dollar  of  the  three 
billion  is  deposited  to  the  credit  of  five  different 
people. 

The  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment has  charge  of  the  erection  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  public  buildings  authorized  by  Con- 
gress. He  selects  the  sites,  secures  the  necessary 
cession  of  jurisdiction  by  the  States  affected,  pre- 
pares estimates  and  drawings,  and  has  general 
oversight  of  the  preliminaries  in  the  construction 
of  these  buildings. 

One  of  the  most  powerful  officials  in  the  Gov- 
ernment service  is  the  Comptroller  of  the  Treas- 
ury. He  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  revising  all 
accounts  upon  appeal  from  settlements  made  by 
the  auditors  for  the  various  departments.  When- 
ever any  question  with  reference  to  appropria- 
tions is  raised,  it  is  referred  to  the  comptroller, 
and  his  verdict  as  to  what  the  appropriation  laws 


THE   TREASURY  39 

mean  can  not  be  reversed.  It  was  the  comptroller 
who  decided  the  famous  question  of  whether  a 
tip  is  legal  or  not.  He  has  expressed  his  opinion 
that  a  tip  of  25  cents  to  a  Pullman  porter  for  a 
day's  ride  is  warranted  by  law  as  a  part  of  trav- 
eling expenses. 

Thus  the  Treasury  Department  includes  in  the 
range  of  its  activity  every  financial  function  of 
the  United  States,  from  coining  money  to  tipping 
Pullman  porters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  AKMY. 


Although  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  reve- 
nues of  the  United  States  Government  is  expended 
in  preparing  for  future  wars  and  on  account  of 
wars  of  the  past,  this  large  expenditure  is  not  re- 
flected by  the  size  of  the  United  States  Army.  In 
the  Regular  Army  at  the  present  time  there  are 
4,939  officers  and  82,685  enlisted  men,  which  in- 
cludes the  180  officers  and  5,732  enlisted  men  com- 
posing the  Philippine  Scouts.  The  authorized 
strength  of  the  Regular  Army  is  not  to  exceed 
100,000  men.  Both  the  Regular  and  the  Militia 
Regiments  are  maintained  on  a  peace  footing  at 
a  little  over  half  war  strength.  As  the  Organized 
Militia  embraces  about  120,000  officers  and  men, 
it  will  be  seen  that  it  would  require  a  reserve  of 
about  200,000  men  to  bring  all  of  the  regiments  of 
the  RegTilar  Army  and  Organized  Militia  up  to 
their  war  strength.  Only  about  one  man  to  each 
four  hundred  and  fifty  people  in  the  United  States 
is  numbered  in  the  organized  forces  of  the  Ameri- 
can Military  Establishment.  The  unorganized 
militia  consists  of  more  than  16,000,000  men, 
which  embraces  every  able-bodied  man  in  the 
United  States  between  the  ages  of  18  and  44. 

40 


THE   ARMY  41 

Although  it  does  not  take  as  long  to  recruit  and 
equip  a  strong  army  as  it  does  to  build  a  naval 
fleet  and  put  it  into  commission  manned  by  an 
efficient  personnel,  it  does  take  a  considerable 
period  of  time  to  bring  such  an  army  up  to  a 
standard  which  makes  it  an  efficient  fighting  force. 
The  country  is  commencing  to  realize  the  impor- 
tance of  establishing  in  time  of  peace  an  organiza- 
tion from  which  an  efficient  army  can  be  quickly 
made  in  time  of  war,  and  with  this  end  in  view  a 
provisional  field  army  has  been  established  in 
the  New  England  States  and  New  York.  The  Na- 
tional Guard  and  regular  troops  have  been 
grouped  into  what  is  known  as  the  First  Pro- 
visional Field  Army.  The  Commanding  General, 
Department  of  the  East,  is  its  commander.  The 
Organized  Militia  and  Regular  Army,  while  fur- 
nishing a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  troops 
needed  for  this  army,  are  not  adequate  to  furnish 
certain  technical  troops,  nor  is  the  quota  of  field 
artillery  or  cavalry  sufficient.  A  serious  effort  is 
being  made  to  organize  additional  field  artillery 
and  cavalry  organizations  in  the  militia,  and  to 
organize  and  train  certain  technical  troops,  such 
as  sanitary  troops,  engineer  troops,  signal  troops, 
etc.,  and  to  provide  reserve  supplies  of  clothing, 
transportation,  guns,  ammunition,  etc.  The  policy 
will  probably  be  carried  out  throughout  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  a  certain  number  of  provisional 
field  armies  organized  and  reserve  supplies  gradu- 
ally  accumulated.     The   great   shortage   in   the 


42       THE   AMERICAN   GOVEENMENT 

Army  to-day  is  in  field  artillery  guns  and  ammu- 
nition. 

The  task  of  provisioning  the  Regular  Army  is 
no  small  one.  The  commissary  department  issues 
30,000,000  rations  a  year.  Each  of  these  costs 
approximately  21  cents.  For  an  army  of  100,000 
men,  there  is  required  (for  each  day's  rations)  50 
tons  of  meat,  50  tons  of  bread,  50  tons  of  pota- 
toes, and  40  tons  of  other  food.  Experience  has 
taught  that  the  feeding  of  an  army  is  one  of  the 
first  essentials  to  its  efficiency  in  the  field,  and  the 
War  Dejiartment  is  using  every  possible  facility 
for  insuring  good  food  for  the  soldiers  in  the 
service. 

The  recruiting  service  of  the  Army  is  a  busy 
one,  even  in  times  of  peace,  and  if  Uncle  Sam  does 
not  get  good  soldiers  it  is  not  because  he  has  lack 
of  applications  for  service  in  the  Army.  In  a  re- 
cent year  134,000  such  applications  for  enlistment 
were  received.  Of  these  125,000  were  attracted 
by  advertising.  The  Adjutant  General  keeps  a 
card  index  in  which  is  recorded  full  data  about 
the  Army  service  and  the  men  who  constitute  it. 
This  index  now  contains  nearly  60,000,000  indi- 
vidual cards,  8,000,000  of  them  being  medical 
cards,  giving  the  history  of  all  cases  of  sickness 
in  the  Army. 

When  a  soldier  enlists  in  Uncle  Sam's  Army  he 
is  assured  that  he  will  receive  the  best  possible 
medical  attention,  which  is  provided  free  of 
charge.    The  medical  department  of  the  Army  con- 


THE   ARMY  43 

sists  of  hundreds  of  graduate  physicians  who  are 
appointed  after  competitive  examinations.  If  a 
soldier  is  only  slightly  indisposed,  he  is  treated  by 
the  post-medical  officers  and  is  furnished  with 
medicine  at  the  regular  dispensaries  free  of 
charge.  If  his  ailment  is  more  serious,  he  is  sent 
to  a  hospital,  and  the  army  hospital  has  the  repu- 
tation of  being  one  of  the  most  sanitary  and  best 
conducted  in  the  world. 

Humanity  owes  a  vast  debt  to  the  Army  medi- 
cal officer.  Many  of  the  most  valuable  lessons 
learned  by  medical  science  during  the  past  20 
years  have  been  taught  by  him.  For  instance,  the 
mosquito  theory  of  the  transmission  of  yellow 
fever  was  proved  by  a  board  of  American  medical 
officers  consisting  of  Drs.  Reed,  Carroll,  and  La- 
zear.  The  support  given  them  by  Gen.  Leonard 
Wood  resulted  in  the  sanitary  triumph  of  the 
American  occupation  in  Cuba.  Later  this  work 
bore  fruit  in  the  even  greater  achievement  of  mak- 
ing possible  the  digging  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
The  use  of  vaccination  for  the  prevention  of  ty- 
phoid fever  was  borrowed  from  the  British  Army 
surgeon,  but  it  has  been  pushed  further  by  the 
American  Army  surgeon  than  by  the  British.  In 
the  last  mobilization  of  the  American  Army  there 
were  only  two  cases  of  typhoid  fever  among 
24,000  men,  one  a  teamster  who  avoided  the  proph- 
ylactic, and  the  other  a  man  who  had  developed 
typhoid  before  he  had  been  vaccinated.  This  is  a 
record  without  parallel  in  the  medical  history  of 


44       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNAIENT 

any  army.  So  thoroughly  has  the  theory  of  sani- 
tation been  mastered  that  there  are  now  less  than 
one-thirteenth  as  many  admissions  to  the  Navy 
and  Army  hospitals  on  accoimt  of  malaria  as 
there  were  13  years  ago. 

Although  some  other  Governments  spend  large 
sums  in  the  encouragement  of  rifle  practice,  the 
American  people  have  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  in  both  team  and  individual  marksman- 
ship their  soldiers  and  sailors  stand  at  the  head 
of  every  list.  Almost  every  international  trophy 
to  be  competed  for  is  now  in  their  keeping. 

A  new  device  has  been  invented  for  teaching 
schoolboys  marksmanship  without  danger  to 
themselves.  It  is  known  as  the  subtarget  ma- 
chine. No  ammunition  is  used  with  it;  the  boy 
simply  aims  the  gun  and  pulls  the  trigger,  and  a 
needle-like  rod  registers  on  a  minute  target  the 
point  where  the  bullet  would  have  struck  on  a 
regulation  target  had  the  gun  been  loaded.  This 
machine  is  not  a  toy,  but  has  been  adopted  by 
many  militia  companies,  and  several  thousand  are 
in  use  in  the  French  Army.  After  the  schoolboys 
are  taught  to  take  accurate  aim  in  this  way,  they 
are  put  to  work  with  22-caliber  rifles  having  the 
same  weight  and  sight  as  the  regulation  Army 
rifle.  After  indoor  practice  with  these  has  made 
the  schoolboys  proficient  in  the  handling  of  guns, 
they  are  then  taken  to  the  rifle  ranges  and  started 
in  regular  practice.  It  has  been  calculated  by 
Army  statisticians   that   for  every  man  hit  in 


TROOPERS  AT  FORT  MYER. 


THE   ARMY  45 

battle  by  small  arms,  there  are  from  3,000  to 
5,000  shots  fired. 

The  Ordnance  Bureau  of  the  War  Department 
has  charge  of  the  work  of  providing  the  Army 
with  all  its  munitions  of  war,  from  the  big  14-inch 
coast-defense  gun  down  to  the  cartridges  for  an 
Army  rifle.  The  heaviest  guns  weigh  as  much  as 
a  railroad  engine  and  shoot  a  projectile  weighing 
as  much  as  ten  ordinary  men.  The  machine  guns 
can  fire  eight  rifle  bullets  in  a  second.  No  battle- 
ship can  resist  the  concentrated  fire  of  modem 
coast-defense  guns.  It  has  become  only  a  ques- 
tion of  marksmanship,  and  the  American  coast 
defenders  have  solved  that  problem  by  becoming 
the  best  marksmen  in  the  world.  They  are  now 
provided  with  60-foot  moving  targets,  and  the 
troops  at  Fort  Hancock,  N.  J.,  some  months  ago 
scored  four  shots  in  less  than  a  minute  with  a 
battery  of  two  guns.  All  four  shots  struck  in  a 
rectangle  of  24  by  53  feet.  The  target  was  4 
miles  away,  and  was  traveling  5l^  miles  an  hour. 
With  such  firing  as  this,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  any  foreign  fleet  to  pass  through  the  Narrows 
below  New  York. 

The  big  guns  are  mounted  on  disappearing  car- 
riages. The  gun  is  loaded  and  is  then  aimed  ac- 
cording to  directions  given  by  the  fire-control  sta- 
tion, in  the  making  of  which  a  minute  knowledge 
of  physics  and  geometry  is  required,  and  the  gun 
is  raised  into  position.  When  it  is  fired,  the  re- 
coil throws  it  back  and  down  into  the  pit  again. 


46       TIIE   AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

There  it  is  loaded  once  more,  driven  up  into  posi- 
tion again  and  fired.  Two  of  these  guns  are 
placed  in  a  single  pit,  and  together  they  can  keep 
a  shot  in  the  air  nearly  all  the  time,  their  com- 
bined capacity  being  a  shot  every  15  seconds. 

In  addition  to  the  long  coast-defense  guns,  there 
is  a  liberal  supply  of  mortars,  which  shoot  16-inch 
projectiles.  They  have  scored  as  high  as  70  hits 
out  of  a  hundred.  These  mortars  are  at  all  times 
out  of  sight  of  the  enemy,  and  are  not  fired  di- 
rectly at  the  object  they  seek  to  destroy,  but  their 
tremendous  balls  are  hurled  high  into  the  air  and 
allowed  to  drop  on  the  deck  of  an  enemy's  war- 
ship. The  mortars  are  fired  only  after  the  most 
careful  calculations  involving  the  force  of  the 
winds,  temperature,  and  many  other  conditions. 
Their  projectiles  carry  in  them  charges  of  as  much 
as  60  pounds  of  high  explosives  and  do  great 
damage  when  they  hit.  If  one  wishes  to  get  an 
idea  of  the  exactness  of  the  aim  of  these  mortars, 
let  him  lay  a  piece  of  money  on  the  ground  a 
hundred  yards  away  and  toss  a  baseball  up  in  the 
air  so  that  it  will  fall  directly  upon  the  coin. 

The  biggest  gun  ever  built  is  the  great  16-inch 
monster  now  at  a  New  York  fort.  It  carries  a 
projectile  weighing  a  full  ton  and  can  reach  an 
enemy  21  miles  away.  At  17  miles  it  can  toss  its 
2,400-pound  ball  as  accurately  as  a  baseball  player 
throws  a  ball  to  a  team-mate  17  yards  away.  This 
gun  has  been  fired  only  a  few  times,  and  is  re- 
garded as  satisfactory.    The  newest  coast-defense 


THE   ARMY  47 

guns  fire  a  14-iiicli  projectile  and  could  probably 
sink  a  battleship  at  a  distance  of  10  miles. 

The  War  Department  has  provided  for  the 
United  States,  it  is  believed,  the  best  system  of 
coast  defense  possessed  by  any  country.  It  is 
believed  that  all  our  principal  harbors  are  ade- 
quately defended,  and  the  fortifications  in  our 
insular  possessions  are  being  rapidly  pushed  for- 
ward to  completion.  Work  is  also  being  com- 
menced on  the  fortifications  at  Panama.  Addi- 
tional works  at  the  entrance  of  Chesapeake  Bay 
are  about  to  be  commenced.  All  the  principal 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  coast  cities  are  well  de- 
fended. 

In  addition  to  the  coast-defense  guns,  many  har- 
bors in  American  waters  possess  a  complete  lay- 
out for  the  planting  of  mines.  In  the  case  of 
threatened  hostilities,  these  harbors  would  be  lit- 
erally underlaid  with  death-dealing  mines,  some 
of  them  to  be  exploded  by  contact,  and  others  by 
touching  a  button  on  a  switchboard  on  the  shore. 
It  is  said  that  Uncle  Sam  has  worked  out  the  most 
complete  system  of  harbor  mining  that  exists  in 
the  world.  Furthermore,  every  harbor  from  Port- 
land, Me.,  to  Portland,  Oreg.,  could  be  completely 
mined  at  a  cost  much  less  than  that  required  to 
build  a  single  battleship.  The  moral  effect  of 
these  mines  in  time  of  war  can  not  be  overesti- 
mated, since  no  nation  would  care  to  risk  a  fleet 
in  a  thorouglily  mined  harbor.  A  mine  costing  a 
few  hundred   dollars  may  destroy  a  battleship 


48      THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

costing  millions.  Military  and  naval  experts  say 
that  it  was  the  knowledge  that  its  harbors  were 
amply  protected  that  allowed  Japan  to  fear  noth- 
ing from  the  Russian  Navy  and  enabled  the  Japa- 
nese fleet  to  assume  the  offensive.  AVith  a  com- 
plete system  of  high-power  guns,  mortars,  search- 
lights, fire  control,  and  everything  else  that  tends 
to  give  a  land  fort  the  advantage  over  a  battle- 
ship, it  seems  that  the  American  coast-defense 
system  is  a  perpetual  guarantee  of  the  safety  of 
American  cities  from  bombardment  by  a  foreign 
fleet. 

No  nation  on  earth  is  so  liberal  to  its  soldiers 
after  they  have  retired  from  the  service  as  the 
United  States.  Four  billion  dollars  is  too  large 
a  sum  for  the  human  mind  to  grasp.  It  is  enough 
to  build  300  or  more  modern  battleships,  or  to 
run  the  postal  service  of  the  United  States  for 
forty  years  without  the  collection  of  a  cent  from 
the  people.  It  is  this  sum  that  a  grateful  nation 
has  given  freely,  voluntarily,  and  without  a  single 
regret  to  the  men  who  have  served  it  in  its  wars. 
And  it  is  probable  that  a  like  amount  will  be 
given  before  the  last  pensioner  now  on  the  list 
shall  have  cashed  his  last  voucher. 

The  pension  payments  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment are  greater  than  those  of  all  the  other  na- 
tions of  the  earth  combined.  At  one  time  and 
another  more  than  2,000,000  pension  claims  have 
been  allowed,  and  nearly  a  million  and  a  half  of 
other  claims  have  been  rejected.    Perhaps  nine- 


THE   ARMY  49 

tenths  of  these  pension  claims  have  grown  out  of 
the  Civil  War. 

The  Corps  of  Engineers  of  the  United  States 
Army,  in  addition  to  its  duties  relating  to  the  con- 
struction and  repair  of  all  fortifications  and  other 
works  of  defense,  also  has  charge  of  the  work  of 
improving  the  rivers  and  harbors  of  the  United 
States.  If  the  American  people  would  spend  as 
much  per  capita  on  their  inland  waterways  as 
Canada  already  has  spent,  every  inland  waterway 
project  in  the  United  States  could  be  perfected. 
Projects  which  will  require  the  expenditure  of 
half  a  billion  dollars  have  already  been  approved 
by  the  Board  of  Engineers,  and  others  involving 
the  expenditure  of  another  half  a  billion  dollars 
have  been  carried  out.  Those  already  constructed 
carry  more  freight  than  the  80,000  miles  of  per- 
fected canals  of  continental  Europe,  which  cost 
ten  times  as  much.  The  improvement  of  the 
Harlem  River,  under  the  very  shadow  of  Wall 
Street,  was  undertaken  in  1878,  the  total  cost  to 
be  less  than  $3,000,000.  The  project  is  now  about 
half  completed.  In  1875  it  was  decided  to  give 
the  Ohio  River  a  slack-water  navigable  depth  of 
6  feet.  In  all  the  intervening  years  since  then 
the  work  has  gone  on,  and  it  has  been  decided  to 
increase  the  depth  to  9  feet.  At  the  rate  the 
Army  Engineers  are  carrying  it  forward,  50 
years  must  elapse  and  $63,000,000  must  be  spent 
before  this  work  is  done.  The  trouble,  however, 
does  not  lie  with  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  but  with 


50       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNIVIENT 

Congress.  That  body  lias  so  many  demands  upon 
it  for  appropriations  that  it  is  not  able  to  have 
the  work  completed  more  expeditiously. 

The  War  Department  has  charge  of  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  This 
academy  is  one  of  the  foremost  military  schools 
in  the  world,  and  employs  111  officers  and  instruct- 
ors. Over  500  young  men  compose  the  cadet 
body.  They  are  appointed  by  competitive  exami- 
nations, upon  the  recommendations  of  the  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  from  the  several  States. 
In  recent  years  there  has  been  something  of  a 
lack  of  interest  in  military  education,  as  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  more  than  200  of  the  vacancies 
in  the  Cadet  Corps  are  not  filled  each  year,  and 
that  the  corps  is  nearly  one-third  smaller  than 
the  maximum  capacity  of  the  school,  which  is 
placed  at  730.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  during 
a  ten-year  period  the  Military  Academy  has  not 
been  able  to  furnish  a  single  graduate  to  fill  a  va- 
cancy made  by  increases  in  the  Army,  but  that 
the  graduating  classes  have  averaged  more  than 
50  short  of  the  number  necessary  to  replace  ordi- 
nary casualties,  such  as  deaths,  resignations,  and 
retirements. 

The  War  Department  also  has  charge  of  the 
military  parks  and  cemeteries  of  the  country.  The 
park  at  Gettysburg  is  regarded  as  the  finest  mili- 
tary park  in  the  world.  Steps  are  being  taken 
for  marking  the  position  of  the  Confederate 
troops  on  that  battlefield,  and  when  this  work  is 


THE   ARMY  51 

completed,  it  will  represent  the  most  comprehen- 
sive effort  ever  made  to  mark  the  position  of 
troops  on  a  battlefield.  There  are  military  parks 
also  on  the  Civil  War  battlefields  of  Chickamauga, 
Shiloh,  and  Vicksburg. 

A  law  was  passed  in  1903  creating  the  office  of 
Chief  of  Staff  and  the  General  Staff  Corps  of  the 
Army.  The  Chief  of  Staff  is  the  military  advisor 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  keeps  him  informed 
on  all  military  matters.  He  receives  from  the 
Secretary  of  War  directions  and  orders  given  in 
behalf  of  the  President,  or  by  the  President 
directly.  All  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  War  af- 
fecting the  Regular  Army  and  Organized  Militia 
when  called  into  the  service  of  the  United  States 
are  issued  by  him  through  The  Adjutant  General ; 
and  through  the  Chief  of  the  Division  of  Militia 
Affairs  in  matters  affecting  the  Organized  Militia 
not  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  He  super- 
vises all  staff  departments  and  corps,  all  troops  of 
the  line  and  staff,  and  all  other  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  Military  Establishment  within  the  scope 
of  the  War  Department.  Under  authority  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  he  can  call  for  information, 
make  investigations,  and  exercise  all  other  func- 
tions necessary  to  secure  proper  harmony  and  ef- 
ficiency. His  supervisory  powers  cover  duties 
pertaining  to  the  command,  training,  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Army,  its  recruitment,  and  military 
operations,  distribution  of  troops,  inspections, 
armaments,  fortifications,  military  education  and 


52       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

instruction,  and  kindred  matters.  In  short,  his 
oflSce  constitutes  a  supervising  military  bureau  of 
the  War  Department,  which  is  expected  to  handle 
aU  of  the  military  matters  in  behalf  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  War. 


CLOCK  THAT  REGULATES  TIME  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    NAVY. 

With  the  exception  of  Great  Britain,  the  United 
States  has  what  is  perhaps  the  most  powerful 
Navy  in  the  world.  It  costs  approximately  $130,- 
000,000  a  year  for  the  maintenance  and  expansion 
of  our  fighting  force  on  the  seas,  of  which  ap- 
proximately $100,000,000  goes  toward  its  upkeep. 
The  authorized  enlisted  force  of  the  Navy  em- 
braces 47,500  men  of  the  seamen  branch  and 
9,521  marines.  If  Congress  follows  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  naval  authorities,  in  10  years 
the  United  States  will  have  about  40  first-class 
battleships,  40  scout  cruisers,  and  120  torpedo- 
boat  destroyers.  The  cost  of  building  such  a 
number  of  scout  cruisers  and  torpedo-boat  de- 
stroyers would  be  more  than  $100,000,000.  With 
40  battleships  on  the  list,  only  21  would  be  kept 
in  active  commission,  as  at  present,  the  remaining 
ones  being  kept  in  reserve.  Likewise,  only  four 
or  five  of  the  scout  cruisers  would  be  kept  in  active 
commission  continuously,  and  no  more  destroyers 
would  be  kept  in  full  commission  than  at  present. 

Although  the  active  battle  fleet  has  been  in- 
creased from  16  to  21  ships,  and  the  torpedo  fleet 
has  been  added  to  in  an  even  greater  proportion, 

53 


64      THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

the  cost  of  maintaining  the  entire  Navy  has  de- 
creased, and  should  Congress  authorize  all  of  the 
new  construction  desired  by  the  Navy  Department 
in  the  way  of  battleships,  cruisers,  destroyers,  re- 
pair ships,  etc.,  the  aggregate  expense  would  not 
be  materially  increased,  since  it  is  expected  that 
the  economy  resulting  from  improved  administra- 
tive methods  will  offset  the  cost  of  maintenance 
of  an  increased  number  of  ships  in  reserve. 

Although  the  United  States  now  leads  the  world 
in  naval  construction,  with  its  projected  30,000- 
ton  battleships,  only  28  years  ago  this  Nation  did 
not  have  a  single  armored  seagoing  warship. 
Although  the  size  of  battleships  has  risen  from 
16,000  tons  displacement  to  30,000  tons  in  10 
years,  the  cost  has  not  risen  in  proportion.  It 
cost  but  little  more  to  build  the  26,000-ton  Ar- 
kansas than  it  cost  to  construct  the  20,000-ton 
Delaware.  The  Vermont,  whose  keel  was  laid  in 
1904,  and  which  has  a  displacement  of  16,000  tons, 
cost  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  more  than  the 
Utah,  of  22,000  tons  displacement.  Battleships 
have  grown  greater,  not  only  in  size  and  in  the 
strength  of  their  armament,  but  also  in  their  effi- 
ciency. The  Delaware,  of  20,000  tons  displace- 
ment, burns  less  coal  than  the  Connecticut,  of 
16,000  tons  displacement. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  factories  in  the 
world  is  the  Naval  Gun  Factory  at  Washington, 
which  is  the  largest  gun-making  establishment  on 
earth.    Here  60-ton  guns  are  picked  up  and  car- 


THE   NAVY  55 

ried  around  with  as  little  apparent  exertion  as  a 
boy  makes  in  lifting  an  air-rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
and  the  largest  guns  built  are  the  14-inch  mon- 
sters which  will  be  placed  on  the  new  battleships. 
With  a  365-pound  charge  of  smokeless  powder, 
they  hurl  a  1,400-pound  shell  through  the  air  with 
an  initial  speed  of  nearly  half  a  mile  a  second.  So 
great  is  the  force  with  which  this  shell  is  pro- 
pelled that  it  has  a  possible  range  of  25,000  yards. 
One  of  these  shells  would  pierce  at  least  5  feet  of 
wrought  iron.  The  charge  of  powder  by  which 
it  is  hurled  on  its  death-dealing  mission  generates 
a  force  which  would  lift  the  great  Masonic  Temple 
of  Chicago,  2  feet  in  the  air  in  a  single  second. 
At  7  miles  one  of  these  shells  would  pierce  the 
heaviest  armor.  At  every  broadside  of  the  twenty 
14-inch  guns  of  two  of  the  latest  battleships,  more 
than  12  tons  of  metal  would  be  hurled  against  the 
opposing  fleet.  This  is  much  more  than  the  entire 
gun  power  of  Dewey's  whole  fleet  at  Manila. 
This  metal  will  be  propelled  by  more  than  3 
tons  of  smokeless  powder  and  the  aggregate  cost 
of  each  broadside  will  represent  much  more  than 
the  annual  salary  of  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy. 

It  is  believed  that  the  naval  battles  of  the  fu- 
ture will  be  fought  at  long  range,  and  that  the 
issue  will  be  determined  largely  by  the  effective- 
ness of  guns  at  a  distance  of  7  miles  or  more.  In 
this  particular  the  American  naval  gunner  has 
the  advantage  of  those  of  any  other  country.  In 
the  battle  of  Santiago,  Admiral  Evans  estimates 


56       THE   AJVIERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

only  5  per  cent  of  the  shots  were  effective.  In 
recent  naval  practice  the  American  gunner  has 
registered  hits  in  from  60  to  90  per  cent  of  the 
shots  fired,  and  Admiral  Evans  thinks  that  40 
per  cent  of  the  hits  would  be  registered  in  actual 
war.  The  guns  of  the  Connecticut  shoot  five  times 
as  fast  as  did  those  of  the  Oregon  at  Santiago,  and 
"Fighting  Bob"  figures  that  in  five  minutes  the 
Connecticut  would  hurl  35,000  pounds  of  steel 
against  a  hostile  fleet,  whereas  the  Oregon  landed 
only  790  pounds. 

Among  the  most  interesting  sights  one  sees  at 
the  Naval  Gun  Factory  is  the  shop  where  jackets 
are  fitted  to  the  big  barkers.  So  great  is  the  ex- 
plosive force  of  a  charge  of  modern  powder  that 
the  breech  section  of  a  great  gun  has  to  be 
strongly  reenforced.  Anyone  who  has  ever  seen 
a  rural  blacksmith  ''cut  a  tire"  on  Parmer 
Brown's  road  wagon  will  understand  the  princi- 
ple of  togging  out  a  big  gun  in  a  new  jacket.  The 
jacket  is  heated  for  a  long  period  in  an  electric 
furnace  at  a  temperature  of  from  400°  to  500°. 
After  it  has  sufficiently  expanded,  the  big  gun  is 
lifted  up  and  the  small  end  put  do^vn  through  the 
jacket.  When  the  breech  end  comes  in  contact 
with  the  jacket,  it  is  in  position,  and  the  steel  is 
gradually  cooled  and  tempered  by  the  application 
of  jets  of  water.  One  hears  much  about  the  muz- 
zle speed  of  the  cannon  ball,  and  wonders  how  it 
can  be  accurately  told.  Two  targets  are  connected 
with  a  chronograph  by  an  electric  current.    As 


THE   NAVY  57 

the  projectile  passes  through  the  first  target  it  re- 
leases a  weight  from  an  electromagnet,  which,  in 
falling,  records  the  exact  instant  the  projectile 
passes  through  the  target.  Another  weight  is  like- 
wise released  when  the  projectile  passes  through 
the  second  target  and  the  difference  in  the  time 
registered  shows  how  long  it  required  for  the  pro- 
jectile to  cover  the  distance  between  the  two 
targets. 

To  measure  the  pressure  in  gun  fire,  two  meth- 
ods are  used.  In  the  one  method  a  piece  of  brass 
is  placed  in  a  steel  case.  A  piston  is  connected 
with  this  piece  of  brass  and  the  pressure  produced 
by  the  explosion,  acting  on  the  piston,  compresses 
the  brass  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  pressure 
exerted.  This  gives  the  basis  for  the  calculation 
as  to  the  amount  of  pressure. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  munitions 
of  war  is  the  modern  Whitehead  torpedo.  Its 
motive  power  is  furnished  by  compressed  air, 
stored  in  a  tank  within  the  torpedo,  at  a  pressure 
of  about  1,100  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  In  a 
chamber  back  of  the  compressed-air  tank  is  a 
mechanism  for  regulating  the  depth  at  which  the 
torpedo  shall  glide  along  in  the  water.  A  piston 
is  held  in  a  balanced  position  by  the  pressure  of 
springs  on  one  side  and  of  water  on  the  other. 
When  the  torpedo  goes  too  low  in  the  water,  the 
pressure  drives  the  piston  out  of  its  former  posi- 
tion, and  this  in  turn  forces  the  submergence  rud- 
ders upward  and  drives  the  torpedo  toward  the 


58       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

surface.  When  the  torpedo  gets  too  near  the  sur- 
face, the  springs  force  the  piston  the  other  way 
and  the  torpedo  is  guided  downward.  This  would 
keep  it  gliding  first  upward  and  then  downward 
unless  an  additional  mechanism  were  provided  to 
regulate  the  action  of  the  piston.  To  meet  the 
difficulty,  a  pendulum  has  been  introduced,  which 
keeps  the  torpedo  submerged  at  a  previously  de- 
termined depth  during  its  entire  flight.  In  addi- 
tion to  a  mechanism  for  keeping  the  torpedo  at  its 
proper  depth,  there  is  also  a  mechanism  which 
prevents  it  from  turning  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left.  This  is  controlled  by  a  little  gyroscope. 
If  the  torpedo  attempts  to  turn  either  to  the  left 
or  to  the  right,  the  gyroscope,  true  to  its  laws  of 
motion,  adheres  to  its  own  straight  line,  and  in 
so  doing  opens  a  little  valve  in  a  small  steering 
engine  which  moves  the  guiding  rudders  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  bring  the  torpedo  back  to  its 
course.  The  gyroscope  acts  in  the  same  way  as 
a  person  handling  the  reins  in  driving  a  horse 
and  is  the  driver  which  guides  the  steed  of  death 
on  its  errand  of  destruction.  The  torpedo  has  a 
war  head  on  it  when  put  in  service,  which  ex- 
plodes the  charge  when  it  hits  its  mark.  There 
is  a  sea-valve  in  the  torpedo,  which  automatically 
scuttles  it  and  sends  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  if 
it  misses  its  mark. 

The  Navy  uses  smokeless  powder  for  all  its  big 
guns.  This  is  perfectly  harmless,  unless  ignited 
when  it  is  confined.    In  the  open  air  a  stick  of  it 


THE   NAVY  59 

can  be  held  in  the  hand  and  lighted  and  it  will 
burn  slowly,  without  an  explosion.  At  the  Indian 
Head  Naval  Proving  Ground  near  Washington, 
where  smokeless  powder  is  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment and  stored  in  large  quantities,  for  a  long 
time  there  was  a  workman  who  daily  smoked  a 
pipe  with  a  stem  made  of  smokeless  powder.  A 
former  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance  of  the 
Navy  Department  used  to  carry  a  cane  made  of  a 
stick  of  smokeless  powder.  Occasionally  he  would 
set  the  end  on  fire  to  light  his  cigar.  Gun-cotton, 
which  is  the  principal  ingredient  of  the  smokeless 
powder  used  by  the  Navy,  produces  a  gas  having 
a  volume  750  times  greater  than  the  original  sub- 
stance. 

The  task  of  provisioning  a  battleship  fleet  is  a 
great  one.  It  required  133,000  tons  of  coal  to 
take  the  world-girdling  fleet  from  Hampton 
Eoads  to  San  Francisco  and  across  the  Pacific. 
The  cost  of  transporting  this  coal  alone  amounted 
to  $755,000.  The  fleet  was  provided  with  9,000 
pounds  of  dried  eggs,  which  is  equivalent  to  36,- 
000  dozen  fresh  eggs,  and  26,000  pounds  of  de- 
hydrated vegetables. 

Eealizing  that  an  error  of  a  minute  or  two  in 
time  might  lead  the  commander  of  a  fleet  to  mis- 
calculate his  position,  and  that  such  an  error  of 
position  might  decide  the  fortunes  of  a  naval 
battle  and  of  a  war,  the  Navy  Department  estab- 
lished the  Naval  Observatory  for  the  primary 
purpose  of  providing  the  exact  time  for  its  ships. 


(JO       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

It  keeps  a  great  master  clock  in  a  hermetically 
sealed  case  in  an  isolated  vault,  the  temperature 
of  the  vault  never  being  allowed  to  vary  more 
than  the  hundredth  part  of  one  degree.  This 
clock  is  so  accurate  that  it  never  varies  more  than 
three-tenths  of  a  second,  and  at  times  it  has  run 
for  three  weeks  without  varying  the  hundredth 
part  of  a  second.  The  temperature  of  the  vault 
is  maintained  at  an  even  degree  by  a  thermostat 
and  a  small  electric  light.  The  change  of  the 
hundredth  part  of  a  degree  of  temperature  would 
affect  the  delicate  thermostat  as  much  as  a  change 
of  40°  affects  a  human  being.  When  the  tem- 
perature in  the  vault  becomes  the  two-hundredth 
part  of  a  degree  hotter  than  normal,  the  ther- 
mostat automatically  turns  off  its  little  electric 
stove.  When  the  temperature  falls  below  nor- 
mal, the  thermostat  starts  the  stove  to  work 
again.  It  often  switches  the  little  electric  bulb 
off  and  on  as  much  as  a  dozen  or  more  times  a 
minute. 

Yet  with  all  the  wonderful  accuracy  of  the  big 
master  clock,  a  careful  check  is  kept  upon  its 
performance.  This  is  done  with  a  transit  instru- 
ment, which  looks  like  a  cross  between  a  telescope 
and  a  cannon,  and  which  is  mounted  on  two  great 
pillars  of  granite,  on  the  exact  meridian  of  Wash- 
ington. It  is  adjusted  with  a  delicacy  almost  un- 
believable. It  can  not  rest  but  a  small  percent- 
age of  its  weight  on  its  pivots,  being  supported 
by  a  sling  arrangement  which  allows  only  enough 


THE  NAVAL  OBSERVATORY. 


THE   NAVY  61 

of  the  weight  on  the  real  bearings  to  give  it  stead- 
iness. At  its  side  there  are  two  delicately  ad- 
justed wheels  which  may  be  turned  the  smallest 
conceivable  fraction  of  an  inch,  and  while  they 
are  about  2  feet  in  diameter,  it  is  necessary  to 
use  four  microscopes  to  see  the  lines  in  the  silver 
on  the  rims  which  constitute  the  gauge  by  which 
the  instrument  is  set.  In  spite  of  the  greatest 
exactitude  that  is  obtainable  in  the  mounting  and 
operation  of  a  transit  instrument  there  is  always 
a  remaining  margin  of  error ;  but  it  happens  that 
this  margin  of  error  may  be  determined  when  the 
observations  are  made  and  are  compensated  for 
in  the  resulting  computation.  These  errors  are 
caused  by  such  conditions  as  the  variations  of 
temperature,  changes  in  barometric  pressure,  and 
the  personal  equation  of  the  observer.  When  the 
observer  wishes  to  fix  the  time,  he  takes  the  tran- 
sit of  about  five  of  the  fixed  stars.  He  knows 
the  exact  instant  at  which  one  of  these  stars  ought 
to  be  at  an  exact  position  in  the  heavens.  He 
aims  his  telescope  at  the  star  and  watches  the 
stars  cross  each  of  the  10  minute  spider  threads. 
Each  time  the  star  crosses  one  of  these  lines  the 
observer  presses  the  key  of  a  chronograph,  and 
the  fact  is  registered  electrically,  showing  the  ex- 
act time  of  crossing.  From  these  observations 
he  gets  the  data  by  which  he  is  able  to  determine 
to  the  hundredth  part  of  a  second  how  accurate 
his  clocks  are. 

One  of  the  rooms  at  the  observatory  is  nsed 


62       THE   AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  chronometers, 
clocks  by  which  time  is  kept  on  shipboard  in  the 
Navy.  Before  being  sent  out  these  clocks  are 
kept  under  observation  for  six  months  and  are 
regulated  so  that  they  measure  time  with  remark- 
able precision.  In  this  room  it  is  aimed  to  keep 
the  temperature  and  moisture  conditions  as  near 
to  an  approximation  of  sea  conditions  as  may  be. 
Wet  clothes  are  hung  up  around  the  room  in 
order  to  obtain  the  proper  degree  of  humidity. 
Every  vessel  in  the  Navy  must  carry  at  least 
three  chronometers.  If  only  one  were  carried 
there  would  be  no  means  of  knowing  when  it  went 
wrong.  If  two  were  carried  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  tell  which  one  was  right  and  which  one 
was  wrong,  in  case  of  variation.  So  they  carry 
three  and  when  two  of  them  agree  it  is  reason- 
ably certain  that  it  is  the  third  one  that  is  wrong. 
The  Naval  Observatory  has  made  some  re- 
markable experiments  in  the  past.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  of  these  was  the  determination 
of  the  velocity  of  light  by  former  Prof.  Michael- 
son,  and  the  late  Simon  Newcomb.  Light  travels 
so  fast  that  it  might  girdle  the  globe  more  than 
seven  times  in  a  single  second,  yet  these  scien- 
tists were  able  to  measure  the  time  it  required 
light  to  travel  from  the  Washington  Monument 
to  Fort  Myer,  2i/4  miles  distant,  and  return.  In 
the  grounds  at  Fort  Myer  they  stationed  a  re- 
volving mirror  with  a  speed  of  250  revolutions 
to  the  second,  and  by  revolving  this  mirror  they 


THE   NAVY  63 

were  able  to  note  how  long  it  took  for  a  ray  of 
light  to  flash  across  the  intervening  space  and 
back  again.  They  found  that  it  could  cover  the 
distance  in  the  forty-thousandth  part  of  a  sec- 
ond, and  thus  were  able  to  settle  the  question  of 
the  velocity  of  light,  proving  former  theories  to 
be  correct. 

The  work  done  by  the  Naval  Observatory  with 
reference  to  the  measurement  of  time  finds  a 
counterpart  in  the  careful  surveys  of  harbors 
into  which  American  warships  may  have  occasion 
to  go  made  by  the  Hydrographic  Office.  Lack  of 
knowledge  of  obstructions  in  the  usual  channels 
of  the  ocean  and  in  the  harbors  of  the  world 
might  not  only  imperil  commercial  navigation, 
but  it  might  prevent  the  proper  maneuvering  of 
a  fleet  in  a  naval  battle.  In  conjunction  with  the 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  Hydrographic 
Office  prepares  charts  showing  the  condition  of 
every  harbor  and  waterway  in  the  world.  The 
charts  are  printed  from  copper  plates,  of  which 
more  than  a  million  dollars'  worth  have  been 
made. 

The  Navy  Department  is  the  world's  greatest 
user  of  the  wireless  telegraph,  already  possess- 
ing equipment  worth  more  than  half  a  million 
dollars.  This  will  be  more  than  doubled  in  a 
short  time.  The  instruments  of  the  Na\^  are  so 
tuned  up  that  outside  instruments  can  not  read 
its  messages  unless  they  come  within  3  per  cent 
of  having  the  same  number  of  vibrations  per  sec- 


64       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ond.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  department  ulti- 
mately to  have  four  big  wireless  towers,  each 
with  a  range  of  3,000  miles  around  it.  One  of 
these  will  be  located  at  Washington,  another  at 
Panama,  another  at  Honolulu,  and  the  fourth  on 
the  westei*n  coast  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
also  intended  to  equip  two  or  three  of  the  large 
cruisers  with  similar  outfits,  so  that  the  depart- 
ment will  be  able  to  keep  in  touch  with  its  vessels 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  at  all  times. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   POST    OFFICE   DEPAKTMENT. 

The  Post  Office  Department  of  the  United 
States  Government  is  by  far  the  largest  postal 
institution  in  the  world.  Its  300,000  employees 
handle  more  than  15,000,000,000  pieces  of  mail 
each  year,  which  is  one-third  of  the  aggregate 
postal  business  of  all  the  civilized  nations.  The 
American  post  office  handles  more  than  800,000 
letters  every  hour  of  the  24,  every  day  in  the 
year ;  it  issues  and  redeems  daily  more  than  250,- 
000  money  orders;  it  registers  daily  more  than 
115,000  letters  and  parcels,  and  it  handles  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  second  and  third  and  fourth 
class  matter  every  hour. 

For  many  years  there  has  been  a  deficit  of  from 
$10,000,000  to  $18,000,000  in  the  operation  of  the 
postal  service,  and  it  remained  for  Postmaster 
General  Frank  H.  Hitchcock,  of  President  Taft's 
Cabinet,  entirely  to  eliminate  this  deficit  and  to 
make  the  postal  service  not  only  a  self-support- 
ing but  a  paying  institution.  In  doing  so  his 
main  effort  was  to  stop  up  the  little  leaks  with- 
out adversely  affecting  the  service  in  any  way. 
He  continued  the  application  of  the  new  divisor 
in  the  readjustment  of  pay  to  the  railroads  on 

65 


66       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

the  weights  of  mails  carried  until  the  effect  had 
been  felt  throughout  the  entire  service.  He  rec- 
ommended to  Congress  a  change  with  respect  to 
the  rates  payable  for  service  on  land-grant  roads, 
which  Congress  enacted  into  law.  The  with- 
drawal of  empty  equipment  from  the  mails  and 
its  transportation  by  freight  was  extended 
throughout  the  weighing  sections. 

In  the  money-order  business,  until  recently,  the 
handling  of  the  domestic  advice  slips,  which  were 
in  every  instance  required  to  be  mailed  by  the  is- 
suing to  the  paying  ofi&ce,  cost  the  Government 
about  $600,000  a  year.  A  new  form  of  order  has 
been  introduced  in  which  the  advice  slip  forms  a 
part  of  the  order  itself,  and  is  presented  at  the 
paying  office  by  the  holder  of  the  money  order. 
This  radical  change  has  resulted  in  the  entire 
elimination  of  the  six-hundred-thousand-dollar 
expense  incident  to  the  handling  of  the  advice 
slips  under  the  former  method.  It  formerly  was 
the  custom  to  furnish  a  return  receipt  card  show- 
ing delivery  for  every  domestic  registered  letter 
or  parcel  handled  in  the  mails.  This  required  the 
handling  of  more  than  30,000,000  such  cards  a 
year.  By  the  authority  of  Congress  these  cards 
are  now  furnished  only  when  requested,  and  this 
resulted  in  the  saving  of  approximately  $77,000  a 
year.  Economies  in  the  purchase  of  supplies  also 
cut  down  the  total  expenditure  of  the  postal  serv- 
ice. The  annual  supply  bill  amounts  to  about 
$4,000,000.     The   twine  used  by  the  service  in 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    67 

tying  packages  of  letters  costs  $200,000  a  year, 
nearly  a  billion  yards  of  it  being  used.  This 
amount  of  twine  would  go  around  the  earth  20 
times.  The  Post  Office  Department  long  sought 
a  substitute  for  twine,  but  has  given  up  the  quest. 

In  addition  to  the  four  Assistant  Postmasters 
General,  who  are  the  aids  of  the  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral in  commanding  the  postal  army,  the  Post 
Office  Department  has  its  own  legal  staff,  and  its 
o^vn  force  of  traveling  representatives  or  in- 
spectors. The  Assistant  Attorney  General  for 
the  Post  Office  Department  has  charge  of  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law  against  lottery  schemes, 
swindlers,  and  greengoods  men  who  use  the  mails. 
More  than  3,000  persons  and  firms  have  been  de- 
nied the  use  of  the  mails  on  ''fraud  orders." 

The  growth  of  the  mail  business  of  the  United 
States  has  been  one  of  the  marvels  of  American 
progress.  In  1837  the  average  citizen  spent  32 
cents  a  year  for  postage.  Now  he  spends  $2.29. 
The  receipts  of  the  Chicago  post  office  to-day  are 
larger  than  those  of  the  entire  country  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Civil  "War.  The  receipts  of  the 
post  offices  vary  from  $5  a  year  at  the  smallest 
office,  in  Alabama,  to  more  than  $23,000,000  a 
year  at  the  largest,  New  York  City. 

The  Eailway  Postal  Service,  with  its  17,000 
employees,  constitutes  the  backbone  of  the  Amer- 
ican postal  system.  The  transportation  of  the 
mails  on  railways  costs  $50,000,000  a  year  and  the 
pay  of  the  clerks  $20,000,000  more.    Each  clerk 


68       THE  AMERICAN   G0VERN]\1ENT 

must  be  familiar  with  the  location  of  from  5,000  to 
20,000  post  offices,  and  is  required  to  be  able  to 
tell  instantly  on  what  railroad  each  post  office  is 
located,  through  what  junction  points  a  letter 
dispatched  by  him  to  that  office  may  pass,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  details  which  can  be  mastered 
only  by  very  retentive  minds.  A  letter  addressed 
to  the  little  village  of  Mount  Crawford,  Va., 
mailed  in  Washington  before  a  certain  hour,  will 
reach  its  destination  in  the  shortest  time  by  one 
railroad,  but  if  mailed  after  that  hour,  it  will 
arrive  sooner  by  another.  Every  change  of 
schedule  on  a  railroad  affects  the  method  of  dis- 
patching mail  so  that  it  will  reach  its  destination 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  yet  the  railway- 
postal  clerk  is  expected  to  be  familiar  with  these 
things  at  all  times.  The  accuracy  to  which  they 
can  attain  is  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  one 
clerk  who  made  a  record  by  handling  17,000  cards 
addressed  to  as  many  post  offices  at  the  rate  of 
60  a  minute  without  putting  a  single  card  in  the 
wrong  pigeonhole  in  the  mailing  case. 

The  Rural  Free  Delivery  Service  costs  nearly 
$43,000,000  a  year,  and  does  not  bring  in  more 
than  a  fourth  as  much  in  return.  Yet  the  Fourth 
Assistant  Postmaster  General  insists  that  it  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  features  of  the  entire 
postal  service. 

Uncle  Sam  is  the  champion  letter  writer  of  the 
world,  but  the  Post  Office  Department  receives  no 
direct   revenue   in   postage   therefrom.     A   few 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    69 

years  ago  Congress  decided  to  ascertain  how 
much  mail  the  Post  Office  Department  was  carry- 
ing free  for  the  Government.  The  weighing  and 
counting  was  done  during  the  last  six  months  of 
the  year  1907.  The  latter  part  of  the  period  was 
considered  dull  commercially,  but  this  would  not 
necessarily  affect  the  business  of  the  Govern- 
ment. During  this  half  year  24,000,000  pounds 
of  Government  mail  was  handled,  which  was  at 
the  rate  of  24,000  tons  a  year.  The  report 
showed  that  2,277,000  pounds  of  congressional 
mail  matter  and  21,663,000  pounds  of  depart- 
mental mail  matter  was  dispatched.  Congres- 
sional mail  is  larger,  however,  in  proportion, 
than  these  figures  indicate,  since  Congress  was  in 
session  only  a  portion  of  the  time  the  weighing 
was  made,  and  the  vast  amount  of  free  seeds  and 
free  Government  documents  usually  sent  in  the 
spring  were,  therefore,  not  included.  During  the 
count  of  seven  days  the  postal  service  handled 
633,000  pieces  of  departmental  mail  for  each  of 
the  seven  days.  Nearly  50  per  cent  of  all  the 
mail  dispatched  by  the  Federal  Government  is 
handled  in  the  post  office  in  "Washington  City. 

Although  Government  mail  travels  free  and 
private  mail  has  to  pay  its  own  way.  Government 
mail  travels  farthest.  Paid  mail  travels  an  aver- 
age of  622  miles;  congressional  mail,  750;  and 
departmental  mail,  782  miles.  The  last  count  of 
mail  received  by  Senators  and  Representatives 
showed  that  nearly  20,000  letters  a  day  are  re- 


70       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ceived  at  the  Capitol.  The  Post  OflSce  Depart- 
ment is  the  greatest  producer  of  Government 
mail,  with  the  Department  of  Agriculture  second, 
and  the  Treasury  Department  third.  The  Treas- 
ury Department  receives  an  average  of  about 
4,000  letters  a  day.  One  word  saved  in  every  letter 
mailed  by  the  Federal  Government  would  enable 
it  to  lay  off  enough  stenographers  to  do  the  work 
of  a  business  corporation  transacting  an  annual 
million-dollar  business. 

Counting  the  stamps  on  stamped  envelopes, 
postal  cards,  and  newspaper  wrappers,  over  11,- 
000,000,000  postage  stamps,  or  more  than  a 
thousand  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the  country,  are  issued  every  year.  These  range 
in  value  from  1  cent  to  $5.  The  average  stamp 
user  has  never  seen  a  5-dollar  stamp,  yet  more 
than  3,000  of  them  are  sold  each  year,  while  over 
ninety  thousand  l-doUar  stamps  pass  through  the 
stamp  windows  of  the  country.  In  years  gone  by 
the  Government  issued  a  stamp  worth  $100.  It 
was  a  newspaper  stamp,  and  was  never  seen  by 
the  public.  It  was  placed  on  the  book  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  dispatching  postmaster  and  canceled 
there.  All  newspaper  stamps  have  been  discon- 
tinued. 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  the  postage  stamp 
has  in  it  a  pleasing  little  romance.  Some  65 
years  ago  Rowland  Hill  was  staying  at  an  Eng- 
lish inn  when  the  daughter  of  the  landlord  re- 
ceived a  letter  by  mail.     Looking  it  over  from 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    71 

one  end  to  the  other  she  inquired  of  the  postman 
what  the  charges  were.  He  replied  that  it  was 
a  shilling.  She  did  not  have  the  money  to  pay 
the  charges  and  Hill  paid  them  for  her.  After- 
wards she  told  him  she  was  sorry  he  had  done 
so,  that  she  and  her  lover  had  evolved  a  little 
code  of  their  own  by  which  they  put  their  mes- 
sages on  the  outside  of  the  letters  and  thus  could 
send  them  through  the  mails  without  paying,  al- 
lowing the  postal  authorities  to  destroy  the  let- 
ters after  they  had  looked  them  over  and  refused 
to  pay  the  charges.  This  put  Hill  to  thinking, 
and  the  pay-in-advance  stamp  was  the  result. 

The  Post  Office  Department  has  long  striven 
to  do  everything  in  its  power  for  the  convenience 
of  the  big  users  of  the  mail.  Large  business 
houses  long  felt  the  loss  from  the  petty  grafting 
of  stamps  by  office  boys  and  others  higher  up. 
To  provide  means  of  identification  so  as  to 
protect  the  buyers  of  large  quantities  of  stamps, 
it  was  arranged  that  the  stamps  may  be  per- 
forated with  numbers  or  letters  not  over  half  an 
inch  square.  This  has  resulted  in  a  large  decline 
in  the  petty  pilfering  of  postage  stamps. 

Another  order  which  has  resulted  in  a  great 
saving  of  time  and  expense  to  the  postal  service, 
and  also  to  the  big  users  of  the  mails,  is  the 
privilege  of  sending  unstamped  third  and  fourth 
class  matter  through  the  mail.  To  a  firm  which 
sends  out  a  million  circulars,  the  work  of  stamp- 
ing them  is  very  tedious,  and  the  actual  cost  of 


72       THE   AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

the  stamps  to  the  Government  is  not  insignifi- 
cant. So  it  is  provided  that  where  a  business 
house  sends  out  2,000  or  more  identical  pieces  of 
mail,  it  may  be  granted  the  privilege  of  printing 
on  the  wrappers  or  envelopes  a  statement  show- 
ing the  amount  of  joostage  paid,  the  office  at 
which  paid,  and  the  number  of  the  permit  under 
which  this  form  of  postage  paying  was  substi- 
tuted for  stamps. 

Another  convenience  is  the  privilege  of  precan- 
celing  stamps.  A  big  firm,  for  instance,  mails 
50,000  calendars.  Each  of  these  is  in  a  roll.  If 
the  firm  placed  a  stamp  on  each  one  of  these 
calendars  and  took  it  to  the  post  office  in  the 
ordinary  way,  the  office  would  be  swamped,  since 
no  other  method  than  the  old  hand  stamp  has 
been  found  for  canceling  the  postage  on  package 
mail.  By  permitting  the  precancellation  of 
stamps  both  the  patron  and  the  post  office  are 
saved  a  vast  deal  of  trouble  and  expense. 

It  costs  the  United  States  a  half  million  dollars 
a  year  for  the  upkeep  of  old  and  purchase  of  new 
mail  bags.  Over  900,000  locks  are  used  in  the 
ordinary  transportation  of  the  mails,  each  of 
them  opening  to  every  key  in  the  postal  estab- 
lishment used  in  connection  with  the  ordinary 
mail  pouch.  To  protect  them  the  greatest  pos- 
sible care  must  be  observed  to  prevent  a  single 
one  of  these  keys  from  going  astray.  There  are 
56,000  rotary  registry  locks  in  use.  These  locks 
are  used  on  pouches  which  contain  registered  mail 


.MAIvIX(;   INK    l-'oH    r()STA(,iK   SIA.MPS. 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    73 

only,  the  mail  being  checked  in  the  pouches  by 
two  clerks  who  keep  a  duplicate  record  of  the 
number  of  pieces  placed  in  the  pouches  and  who 
send  the  original  record  in  the  pouches  to  the 
receiving  offices.  The  locks  are  opened  by  a 
special  key,  and  have  a  registering  equipment 
like  that  of  a  bicycle  cyclometer,  which  moves 
up  one  number  every  time  the  lock  is  opened. 
"When  a  registry  pouch  arrives  at  its  destina- 
tion two  clerks  open  it  and  check  its  contents  with 
the  bill  inclosed.  When  the  numbers  on  the  lock 
correspond  with  those  in  the  record,  it  shows  that 
the  lock  and  pouch  have  come  through  unopened. 
When  the  lock  numbers  do  not  correspond  it  in- 
dicates that  the  lock  has  been  opened  by  some 
unauthorized  person. 

There  are  many  curious  things  in  the  postal 
service.  The  strangest  post  office  from  which 
the  American  postal  service  receives  mail  is  one 
on  the  Galapagos  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Ecua- 
dor. It  is  nothing  but  a  barrel  in  which  letters 
are  dispatched  semioccasionally.  All  mariners 
in  those  waters  know  of  this  post  office,  and  when 
in  that  vicinity  go  to  look  in  the  barrel  for  let- 
ters. Eecently  some  of  these  showed  up  in  Wash- 
ington much  the  worse  for  wear. 

Mail  usually  gets  to  its  destination  in  the  short- 
est possible  time,  but  occasionally  a  letter  or  a 
package  of  letters  will  not  show  up  for  years. 
Eecently  a  letter  came  to  the  post  office  in  Pater- 
son,  N.  J.,  that  had  been  mailed  three  years  be- 


74      THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

fore  at  Midvale,  5  miles  away.  In  another  in- 
stance a  letter  arrived  in  an  eastern  city  bearing 
congratulations  to  a  proud  father  upon  the  birth 
of  a  son.  When  it  arrived,  that  son  three  times 
had  been  congratulated  upon  the  birth  of  children 
of  his  own. 

The  Post  Office  Department  is  a  maker  of  maps 
as  well  as  a  carrier  of  mails.  Using  all  Govern- 
ment surveys,  it  makes  post-route  maps  of  the 
States,  showing  post  offices  and  all  mail  connec- 
tions, and  also  rural-delivery  maps  of  the  prin- 
cipal counties  on  an  enlarged  scale,  showing  all 
the  roads  and  residences,  the  dimensions  of  the 
latter  maps  averaging  30  by  36  inches.  The 
sheets  of  the  post-route  maps  are  sold  at  80  cents 
each,  and  those  of  the  county  maps  at  50  cents 
each. 

There  has  been  much  controversy  over  the 
question  of  a  parcels-post  system  for  the  United 
States.  The  country  merchant  thinks  such  a  sys- 
tem would  be  ruinous  to  him.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  advocates  of  the  parcels  post  point  out  that 
the  Rural  Free  Delivery  Service  will  never  reach 
its  greatest  usefulness  until  such  a  system  is  es- 
tablished, and  that  the  express  companies  will 
continue  to  swell  their  dividends  by  reason  of  its 
absence.  While  the  controversy  is  being  waged 
the  American  citizen  enjoys  the  somewhat  novel 
privilege  of  being  able  to  send  a  parcel  through 
the  mails  to  England  at  a  smaller  cost  than  he 
can  send  it  to  his  next  door  neighbor.     Also,  he 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    75 

can  send  a  11-pound  package  to  England,  but  can 
not  dispatch  a  package  weighing  more  than  4 
pounds  to  his  friend  in  the  next  town. 

The  Dead  Letter  Office  of  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment is  one  of  its  most  interesting  institu- 
tions. It  receives  about  12,000,000  "dead"  letters 
and  parcels  a  year  and  some  8,000,000  post  cards 
and  postals.  Ten  million  letters  and  parcels  are 
opened,  and  of  these  about  6,000,000  are  either 
forwarded  to  the  addressees  or  returned  to  the 
writers.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  the  great 
number  of  queer  things  which  show  up  at  the 
Dead  Letter  Office.  A  museum  is  maintained 
where  many  of  these  strange  relics  of  the  mail 
are  put  on  exhibition.  One  of  these  exhibits  is 
an  old  white  hat  bearing  lines  and  rhymes  tell- 
ing of  the  romances  of  school  days.  Another  is 
a  rattlesnake's  hide.  There  are  doll-baby  legs, 
a  grinning  skull,  an  old-fashioned  wooden  stir- 
rup, and  the  hind  legs  of  a  wolf.  More  than  85,- 
000  photographs  come  to  the  dead  letter  office 
each  year. 

Often  live  animals  and  insects  are  found  in  the 
mails.  Once  a  clerk  opened  a  package  and  re- 
leased a  whole  swarm  of  Kansas  chinch  bugs. 
Another  clerk  opened  a  small  pasteboard  box  and 
out  of  it  came  a  deadly  tarantula.  In  another 
box  there  appeared  a  large  rattlesnake,  accom- 
panied by  a  card  on  which  was  written,  *'I  hope 
this  puts  an  end  to  you."  A  careful  record  is 
kept  of  all  valuable  inclosures  received  in  dead 


76       THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

letter  mail,  including  money,  commercial  papers, 
wills,  deeds,  etc.  Of  some  $G0,000  of  actual 
money  received  in  a  year  only  about  $40,000 
could  be  returned.  The  remainder  was  turned 
into  the  United  States  Treasury. 

One  of  the  most  unique  events  in  the  year's 
work  of  the  postal  service  is  the  annual  dead  let- 
ter sale.  This  sale  is  held  just  before  Christ- 
mas, and  the  proceeds  approximate  $10,000  a 
year.  Formerly  it  was  one  of  the  greatest  lot- 
teries imaginable.  A  young  woman  made  the 
highest  bid  on  a  package  containing  a  set  of  false 
teeth.  A  woman-hating  man  was  the  successful 
bidder  on  a  package  containing  a  lot  of  false  hair, 
and  a  colored  woman  got  a  package  containing 
six  boxes  of  white  face  powder. 

Each  year  thousands  of  letters  come  to  the 
post  offices  of  the  country  addressed  to  Santa 
Claus.  Formerly  these  were  all  destroyed,  as 
the  department  was  never  able  satisfactorily  to 
find  the  permanent  address  of  good  old  Kris 
Kringle.  Later  President  Roosevelt  granted 
Miss  Elizabeth  Phillips  the  right  to  take  these 
letters  and,  as  far  as  lay  in  her  power,  to  grant 
the  requests  contained  in  them.  Within  a  year 
Miss  Phillips  became  widely  known  as  *'The 
Santa  Claus  Lady."  Her  untimely  death  caused 
much  sorrow  among  the  poor  children  of  the 
country. 

One  of  the  innovations  of  the  present  admin- 
istration is  the  establishment  of  a  postal-savings 


THE  POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    77 

system.  The  Postmaster  General  has  taken  a 
personal  interest  in  the  system  from  the  begin- 
ning and  as  a  result  it  has  been  extended  with 
great  rapidity.  In  fact,  none  of  the  many  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  operating  postal  savings,  ever 
tried  to  operate  so  many  depositories  in  so  short 
a  time  after  its  installation.  The  receipt  of  de- 
posits was  started  first  on  January  3,  1911,  in 
48  post  offices  in  as  many  States  and  Territories. 
Since  that  time  the  system  has  been  extended  as 
rapidly  as  practicable.  There  are  approximately 
60,000  post  offices  in  the  country,  and  it  is  the 
purpose  of  the  present  administration  to  have  a 
savings  department  in  the  50,000  money-order 
offices. 

One  of  the  most  widely  desired  improvements 
in  the  postal  service  that  is  indicated  for  the 
early  future  is  the  adoption  of  1-cent  letter  post- 
age. It  has  been  asserted  by  congressional  lead- 
ers that  as  soon  as  the  Post  Office  Department 
could  make  itself  a  self-supporting  institution, 
Congress  would  grant  penny  postage  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States.  If  this  reduction  is 
made,  it  is  predicted  that  the  postal  business  in 
the  United  States  will  soon  increase  to  a  point 
equal  to  that  of  all  other  nations  combined. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  DEPAKTMENT    OF   THE   INTERIOB. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  is  little  more 
than  a  collection  of  unrelated  governmental  bu- 
reaus. There  is  no  relation  whatever  between 
the  work  of  the  Pension  Bureau  and  that  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  nor  is  there  any  reason  why 
such  widely  divergent  activities  as  those  of  the 
Patent  Office  and  the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs 
should  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  same 
department.  When  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior was  established  it  was  intended  that  it 
should  have  charge  of  all  matters  relating  to  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  country. 

Its  establishment  grew  out  of  the  large  acces- 
sion of  territory  following  the  Mexican  War,  and 
the  consequent  increase  in  population,  wealth, 
and  business.  The  act  under  which  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  was  established  was  entitled 
"An  act  to  establish  the  Home  Department." 
Since  the  establishment  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  the  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor,  there  have  been  many  instances  of 
duplication  of  departmental  activities  and  divided 
jurisdiction  over  the  same  subject  matters.  This 
is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  Departments  of 

78 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR    79 

Agriculture  and  of  the  Interior  have  joint  su- 
pervision of  the  lands  in  the  National  Forests, 
but  the  powers  and  duties  of  each  are  clearly  de- 
fined. 

Former  Secretary  Richard  A.  Ballinger  de- 
clared in  one  of  his  official  reports  that  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior  ought  to  be  consolidated 
with  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  He  thought 
that  the  supervision  of  the  Capitol  Building  and 
Grounds  should  be  transferred  to  the  Supervis- 
ing Architect  of  the  Treasury,  that  the  Patent 
Office  should  go  to  the  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor,  and  the  Pension  Office  to  the  War  and 
Navy  Departments. 

The  activities  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
are  now  taken  up  by  the  supervision  of  the  af- 
fairs of  the  unrelated  bureaus  which  make  up 
the  department.  Holding  first  rank  among  these 
bureaus  is  the  General  Land  Office.  Uncle  Sam 
has  been  one  of  the  most  bountiful  distributers 
of  land  in  the  history  of  the  world.  From  the 
time  the  Government  was  founded  down  to  the 
present,  1,835,000,000  acres  of  land  have  come 
into  his  control.  He  has  disposed  of  all  of  this 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  except  700,- 
000,000  acres.  As  a  buyer  of  real  estate  Uncle 
Sam  has  been  a  notable  success.  The  entire 
amount  of  land  received  by  him  cost  him  less 
than  5  cents  an  acre.  The  great  "Louisiana  Pur- 
chase," embracing  some  of  the  finest  land  in  the 
entire  country  and  now  representing  an  aggre- 


80       THE   AMEEICAN   GOVERNMENT 

gate  value  of  many  billions  of  dollars,  cost  con- 
siderably less  than  a  nickel  an  acre.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  public  lands  has  been  given 
away  as  free  homesteads  to  those  who  would 
settle  and  improve  them.  The  free  homesteads 
consist  of  160  acres.  A  law  has  recently  been 
enacted  by  Congress  providing  that  a  home- 
steader can  secure  a  surface  patent  for  his  land 
where  it  is  underlaid  with  coal.  This  will  per- 
mit the  farmers  to  go  upon  coal  lands  and  raise 
crops  there  while  the  Government  reserves  the 
coal  deposits  which  may  be  found  in  the  ground 
beneath.  This  law  will  result  in  millions  of  acres 
of  public  lands  being  utilized  for  farming  pur- 
poses which  might  otherwise  lie  completely  idle 
pending  the  utilization  of  the  coal  beneath  it. 

The  General  Land  Office  also  has  charge  of 
national  monuments,  forest-reserve  work,  and 
power-site  reserves.  Among  the  national  monu- 
ments under  its  control  is  the  Eainbow  Bridge, 
a  natural  arch,  resembling  a  rainbow,  309  feet 
high,  and  278  feet  in  span,  which  lies  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Utah.  Another  is  the  Sitka  National 
Monument  in  Alaska,  upon  the  site  of  the  deci- 
sive battle  grounds  of  the  Russian  conquest  of 
Alaska  in  1804.  It  has  numerous  totem  poles, 
which  contain  the  genealogical  history  of  several 
clans  of  Eskimos. 

The  Pension  Office  is  an  important  bureau  of 
the  Interior  Department.  The  number  of  sur- 
vivors of  the  Civil  "War  now  on  the  pension  roll 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR    81 

exceeds  half  a  million,  but  their  names  are  being 
erased  by  death  at  the  rate  of  more  than  30,000 
a  year.  The  total  number  of  pensioners  on  the 
roll  now  approximates  900,000.  The  annual  pay- 
ments on  account  of  pensions  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fiscal  year  1911  was  $158,000,000.  The  aver- 
age value  of  each  pension  per  year  was  $171.90. 
The  total  amount  paid  out  for  pensions  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  1911  was  more  than 
$4,000,000,000.  Of  this  $3,837,000,000  was  paid 
out  for  Civil  War  pensions.  In  other  words, 
more  than  fourteen-fifteenths  of  all  the  pensions 
paid  by  the  National  Government  have  been  on 
account  of  the  Civil  War.  The  admitted  pension 
claims  in  the  files  of  the  Pension  Office  are  so 
numerous  that  they  fill  27  rooms  and  weigh  more 
than  a  thousand  tons.  More  than  three-and-a- 
quarter-million  claims  have  been  filed  since  the 
establishment  of  the  American  pension  system. 
A  million  and  a  quarter  of  these  have  been  re- 
jected. 

Mrs.  Phoebe  M.  Palmeter,  of  Brookfield,  N.  Y., 
aged  89  years,  pensioned  by  a  special  act  of  Con- 
gress as  the  daughter  of  Jonathan  Wooley,  who 
served  under  George  Washington,  in  a  New 
Hampshire  company,  was  the  only  pensioner  on 
account  of  the  Revolutionary  War  remaining  on 
the  roll  in  1911.  The  last  widow  pensioner  of 
that  war  was  Esther  S.  Damon,  of  Plymouth 
Union,  Vt.,  who  died  in  1906,  at  the  age  of  92. 
The  last  survivor  of  the  Revolutionary  Army  was 


82       TIIE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Daniel  F.  Bakeman,  who  died  at  Freedom,  Cat- 
taraugus County,  N.  Y.,  in  1869,  aged  109  years, 
6  months,  and  8  days.  The  last  survivor  of  the 
War  of  1812  was  Hiram  Cronk,  of  Ava,  N.  Y., 
who  died  in  1905,  aged  105  years.  More  than  350 
widows  of  the  War  of  1812  were  still  carried  on 
the  pension  rolls  in  1911. 

The  Bureau  of  Education  is  a  part  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior  and  aims  to  serve  as  a 
sort  of  national  clearing  house  for  educational 
information.  It  seeks  to  gather  such  data  with 
reference  to  the  educational  activities  of  every 
progressive  community  of  the  world  as  will  en- 
able the  more  backward  communities  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  lessons  of  progress,  and  to  bring 
themselves  to  the  forefront  of  educational  work. 
If  one  community  happens  to  make  a  marked  suc- 
cess of  a  system  of  transporting  pupils  to  rural 
schools,  the  Bureau  of  Education  sends  experts 
to  study  all  the  details  of  its  operation,  and  then 
prints  the  results  of  this  investigation  in  pam- 
phlet form  so  that  interested  educators  and  leg- 
islators the  country  over  may  have  the  benefit  of 
the  experience.  The  School  Administration  Di- 
vision of  the  bureau  aims  to  secure  the  establish- 
ment of  better  systems  of  school  accounting  and 
school  statistics  throughout  the  country.  A 
specialist  in  higher  education  is  engaged  in  gath- 
ering information  relating  to  standards  of  col- 
legiate and  professional  education,  the  statistics 
and  accounting  systems  of  colleges  and  universi- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR    83 

ties,  cooperation  in  graduate  studies,  the  oppor- 
tunities afforded  in  this  country  for  students 
from  foreign  countries,  and  many  related  mat- 
ters. The  bureau  also  has  charge  of  educational 
work  among  the  Eskimos  in  Alaska,  and  is  giv- 
ing them  instruction  in  agriculture,  cooking,  sew- 
ing, bench  work,  washing  clothes,  cleaning  houses, 
sanitation,  and  hygiene.  It  also  helps  the  desti- 
tute natives  in  their  hours  of  need,  requiring  all 
able-bodied  natives  who  receive  such  help,  to  per- 
form, in  exchange  for  supplies  received,  an 
equivalent  amount  of  labor  in  furnishing  fire 
wood  for  use  in  the  schools,  in  cleaning  the  prem- 
ises, or  in  the  removal  of  refuse  from  the  vicinity 
of  the  native  houses.  The  bureau  also  has  charge 
of  the  reindeer  herds  of  Alaska.  There  are  22,- 
000  reindeer  in  the  34  herds  in  the  Territory. 
The  income  from  the  sale  of  reindeer  products 
more  than  quadruples  in  a  single  year,  and  the 
natives  are  finding  the  reindeer  industry  one  of 
the  most  important  features  in  their  economic 
life. 

The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  has 
charge  of  Indian  tribes  of  the  United  States  ex- 
clusive of  those  in  Alaska,  their  lands,  moneys, 
schools,  the  purchase  of  their  supplies,  and  their 
general  welfare.  There  are  now  approximately 
300,000  Indians  on  the  reservations  of  the  United 
States.  Formerly  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  deal  with  the  Indians  as  tribes  in- 
stead of  as  individuals.     All  of  this  has   been 


84      THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

changed,  and  the  efforts  of  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment are  toward  the  progressive  assimilation  of 
the  Indian  into  the  body  politic,  with  the  great- 
est degree  of  protection  to  the  Indian  and  with  a 
minimum  of  injury  to  the  community  to  which 
he  may  belong.  It  has  come  to  be  recognized  that 
the  only  way  to  accomplish  this  is  to  deal  with 
each  of  them  as  an  individual.  Therefore,  as 
rapidly  as  an  Indian  demonstrates  his  ability  to 
perform  the  duties  of  a  citizen  and  to  be  subject 
to  the  same  social,  political,  moral,  and  legal  ob- 
ligations, he  is  given  his  freedom  from  the  tute- 
lage of  the  Federal  Government  and  made  to  hoe 
his  own  row  as  any  other  American  citizen.  To 
change  the  characteristics  of  a  race,  compelling 
it  to  surrender  its  traditions,  its  customs,  and  its 
impulses,  is  a  matter  of  generations  rather  than 
years.  The  full-blooded  Indian  of  to-day  still 
asserts  a  stubborn  resistance  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Government  to  transform  him  into  a  farmer,  with 
fixed  habitation,  or  to  interest  him  in  the  trades 
or  common  vocations  of  life.  In  the  Govern- 
ment's policy  of  individualizing  the  Indian  for 
civic  usefulness,  one  of  the  most  potent  influences 
is  the  distribution  of  tribal  properties  among  the 
individuals  who  constitute  the  tribe.  This  dis- 
tribution has  resulted  in  the  saving  of  millions 
of  dollars  to  the  Indian  by  obviating  the  litiga- 
tion of  trumped-up  claims  for  fees  by  alleged 
representatives  and  speculating  attorneys.  The 
Indian  is  usually  ready  to  sign  away  his  birth- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR    85 

right  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  and  in  some  instances 
the  fees  of  attorneys  in  a  single  cause  amounted 
to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Under  the 
new  policy  such  claims  will  not  be  recognized  by 
the  Government.  As  the  Indians  become  free 
and  their  property  becomes  subject  to  taxation 
by  the  States,  the  educational  system  now  sup- 
ported by  the  Federal  Government  will  become  a 
part  of  the  State  educational  systems. 

Perhaps  the  most  trying  and  difficult  work  the 
Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs  has  to  do  is  to  prevent 
the  sale  of  liquor  to  the  Indians  outside  of 
Alaska.  They  are  proverbially  fond  of  the  white 
man's  fire  water,  and  despite  the  utmost  vigilance 
upon  the  part  of  the  Government  officials  in  the 
prosecution  of  offenses  of  this  nature,  a  vast 
amount  of  mischief  is  still  done.  Sixty  thousand 
dollars  a  year  is  appropriated  to  keep  liquor  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  As  a  rule,  the  In- 
dian gives  little  encouragement  to  the  Govern- 
ment's efforts  in  this  direction,  but  now  and  then 
Indians  themselves  have  circulated  petitions  ad- 
dressed to  their  home  city  or  town  councils  ask- 
ing that  saloon  licenses  be  revoked  and  the  bar- 
rooms closed. 

In  the  process  of  making  free  the  property  of 
the  Indians  now  being  carried  on  by  the  Interior 
Department  the  thumbprint  is  figuring  largely. 
Heretofore  it  has  been  the  custom  to  let  the  In- 
dian who  could  not  write  simply  make  his  mark. 
In  after  years  he  was  inclined  to  forget  that  he 


S6       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

had  made  such  a  mark,  and  could  usually  make  a 
showing  toward  proving  an  alibi.  An  Indian 
inspector  suggested  the  thumbprint  in  addition  to 
the  mark  and  all  new  Indian  deeds  bear  this  im- 
print. The  result  is  that  Lo  is  given  to  under- 
stand that  no  amount  of  false  swearing  will  serve 
to  disprove  his  signature  as  witnessed  by  the 
unerring  thumbprint,  and  it  is  said  to  have  shown 
already  a  very  excellent  effect  on  the  commercial 
morality  of  the  illiterate  Indian.  The  supervi- 
sion of  liquor  traffic  among  Indians  and  natives 
of  Alaska  is  under  the  direction  of  the  governor 
of  Alaska. 

Perhaps  the  richest  people  on  earth,  per  capita, 
are  the  Osage  Indians,  whose  property  is  now 
being  turned  over  to  them  as  individuals.  This 
tribe  consisted  of  2,230  persons,  and  they  were 
the  joint  owners  of  nearly  2,000,000  acres  of  ex- 
cellent farming  lands.  In  addition  to  that  their 
ready-money  funds  amounted  to  nearly  $9,000,- 
000.  Under  the  law  each  Indian  has  been  per- 
mitted to  take  480  acres  of  land  and  has  been 
given  nearly  $4,000  in  cash.  As  soon  as  each 
individual  Indian  becomes  capable  of  managing 
his  own  affairs  he  will  be  given  certain  privileges 
and  at  the  end  of  25  years  will  come  into  fee  sim- 
ple ownership  of  all  his  property. 

It  is  said  that  when  Columbus  discovered 
America,  there  were  at  least  48  different  stocks 
of  Indians  inhabiting  the  territory  north  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.     It  is  estimated  that  there  were 


DEPAKTMENT  OF  THE  INTEEIOR    87 

not  more  than  a  million  Indians  here  at  that 
time.  The  aggregate  Indian  population  is  grow- 
ing to-day,  but  the  number  of  full-blooded  In- 
dians is  gradually  decreasing.  There  are  now 
26,000  pure-blooded  Indians  within  the  conti- 
nental United  States  who  still  adhere  to  their 
blankets  and  their  primitive  mode  of  life. 

The  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  another 
bureau  of  the  Interior  Department,  is  largely 
that  of  irrigating  the  desert  places  of  the  West- 
ern States  and  Territories.  This  work  promises 
to  produce  a  great  expansion  of  the  national 
wealth  in  years  to  come.  An  act  of  Congress 
passed  in  1902  set  apart  as  a  fund  for  the  recla- 
mation of  arid  lands  all  moneys  received  from 
the  sale  of  public  lands  in  certain  Western  States 
and  Territories,  except  5  per  cent  of  the  proceeds 
of  such  sales,  which  was  set  aside  for  educational 
and  other  purposes.  This  has  resulted  in  mak- 
ing available  for  reclamation  work  nearly  $68,- 
000,000.  With  this  money,  the  Government  goes 
into  a  section  of  arid  country  and  constructs  the 
necessary  irrigation  works.  Congress  has  since 
appropriated  additional  funds  and  as  a  certain 
project  is  completed  it  is  made  available  for  set- 
tlement, and  each  settler  may  take  40  acres  of 
ground  for  a  homestead.  The  settlers  go  to- 
gether and  constitute  a  water-users'  association, 
paying  the  expenses  of  operating  the  plant  and 
establishing  a  sinking  fund  to  reimburse  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  cost  of  constructing  the  work. 


88       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

As  tliis  money  comes  back  to  the  Government 
new  works  are  undertaken  elsewhere. 

More  than  11,000,000  acres  of  land  have  been 
irrigated  by  the  Government  and  private  inter- 
ests. It  is  estimated  that  there  is  enough  addi- 
tional water  available  to  irrigate  30,000,000  acres 
more.  At  the  rate  of  one  inhabitant  to  every  2 
acres  this  would  give  a  population  of  more  than 
20,000,000  on  land  that  once  was  arid.  The  Gov- 
ernment will  permit  men  without  much  ready 
money  to  work  out  the  cost  of  the  water  rights 
for  the  land  they  buy  by  assisting  in  the  con- 
struction of  canals,  ditches,  dams,  and  other 
works.  It  is  estimated  that  the  irrigated  area 
of  the  earth  amounts  to  75,000,000  acres,  of  which 
more  than  one-seventh  lies  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  United  States.  More  than  3,000,000  Ameri- 
cans are  now  living  upon  crops  grown  on  lands 
made  fertile  by  irrigation. 

That  irrigation  is  a  profitable  enterprise  is 
illustrated  by  the  experience  of  the  State  of  Col- 
orado. During  a  recent  year  the  value  of  its 
wheat  crop  was  $18.65  per  acre  as  compared  with 
$12.19  in  Wisconsin,  $11.22  in  Illinois,  $9.00  in 
Minnesota,  and  $8.45  in  Kansas.  Its  yield  per 
acre  of  oats  was  double  in  value  that  of  its 
nearest  rival,  Wisconsin.  Its  barley  yield  was 
valued  at  $19.12  an  acre  as  compared  with  $13.65 
per  acre  for  Wisconsin.  Its  yield  of  hay  was 
valued  at  $19.47  per  acre  as  compared  with  $13.14 
per  acre  in  its  closest  rival,  Wisconsin.      Many 


DEPAETMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR    89 

an  acre  of  irrigated  land  has  been  made  to  yield 
profits  of  from  $200  to  $500  a  year. 

Deeds  of  daring  and  resourcefulness  almost 
without  parallel  in  history  have  been  performed 
in  the  perfecting  of  this  great  scheme  of  desert 
redemption,  and  engineering  feats  have  been  ac- 
complished which  have  astonished  the  entire 
world.  Of  these  deeds  the  Uncompahgre  project 
in  Colorado  is  an  example.  In  the  valley  of  the 
Uncompahgre  River  lies  land  of  exceptional 
value,  but  until  the  United  States  took  a  hand 
there  was  no  way  to  water  it.  Flowing  parallel 
to  this  river  is  the  Gunnison,  whose  route  lies 
through  a  canyon,  whose  volume  of  water  is 
large,  and  which  has  no  contiguous  land  needing 
it. 

These  two  streams  flow  10  miles  apart,  sepa- 
rated by  a  mountain  2,000  feet  high.  It  was  de- 
cided to  take  the  superfluous  water  from  the  Gun- 
nison River,  divert  it  into  the  Uncompahgre,  and 
so  make  fertile  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
acres  in  that  valley.  Then  came  the  men  of  dar- 
ing who  were  to  survey  the  route.  Swinging  by 
ropes  over  precipices,  clinging  to  crevices  of 
rocks,  floating  down  unexplored  rivers  on  rubber 
rafts,  and  otherwise  encountering  many  dangers, 
they  completed  the  survey  of  the  tunnel  to  be  cut 
under  the  mountain.  This  tunnel  is  6  miles  long 
and  is  the  greatest  underground  waterway  in  the 
world.  In  the  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service 
covering  eight  years  an  amount  of  material  one- 


90       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

third  as  large  as  that  to  be  removed  from  the 
Panama  Canal  has  been  excavated. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  also  has  over- 
sight of  the  work  of  the  Geological  Survey  and 
the  Patent  Office.  In  addition  to  this  it  looks 
after  the  eleemosynary  institutions  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  the  national  parks,  the  admin- 
istration of  affairs  in  the  Territories,  and  work 
connected  with  the  United  States  Capitol  Build- 
ing. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  PATENT    OFFICE. 

Although  the  patent-right  system  of  the  world 
had  its  inception  in  England  and  now  finds  the 
most  effective  application  in  Germany,  it  prob- 
ably has  rendered  its  greatest  service  in  the 
United  States.  The  civilized  nations  of  the  earth 
have  issued  3,000,000  patents,  and  of  these  more 
than  a  million  have  been  issued  by  the  American 
Patent  Office. 

The  genius  of  invention  came  with  the  empire 
builders  to  Jamestown  and  Cape  Cod,  and  in  1641 
the  colony  of  Massachusetts  granted  Samuel 
Winslow  a  patent  for  a  new  method  of  making 
salt.  In  1646  a  patent  was  granted  to  Joseph 
Jenks  for  an  ''engine  for  the  more  speedy  cut- 
ting of  grass."  This  "engine"  was  nothing  more 
than  an  old-fashioned  mowing  scythe,  but  it  was 
the  first  of  a  long  line  of  American  agricultural 
machines  which  have  revolutionized  the  farm  life 
of  the  world. 

The  patent  system  was  provided  for  in  the 
Federal  Constitution,  and  the  First  Congress 
passed  a  law  creating  a  patent  commission  made 
up  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  the  Attorney  General.     They  waited 

91 


92       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

for  three  months  before  the  first  applicant  for  a 
patent  appeared.  Samuel  Hopkins  had  invented 
a  new  process  of  making  pot  and  pearl  ashes,  and 
was  granted  a  patent  thereon  on  July  31,  1790. 
Three  years  later  another  act  was  passed  and 
the  Secretary  of  State  became  the  head  of  the 
system.  Since  that  day  the  American  inventor 
has  led  the  world.  He  is  bringing  out  new  ideas 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  30,000  a  year.  During 
the  recent  fiscal  year  36,000  patents  were  granted 
out  of  64,000  applications  filed. 

These  patents  covered  the  entire  range  of 
human  ingenuity.  Each  decade  brings  some 
epoch-making  basic  invention,  which  in  turn 
brings  in  its  train  thousands  of  other  inventions. 
When  the  automobile  was  first  patented  there  had 
been  no  need  for  the  thousand-and-one  attach- 
ments that  have  followed.  No  such  thing  as  a 
siren  horn  or  an  anti joy-riding  device  was 
dreamed  of  before  the  automobile  came  into  pop- 
ular use.  As  soon  as  the  flying  machine  becomes 
commercially  feasible,  the  Patent  Office  will  do  a 
tremendous  business  in  patents  on  app  artenances 
for  the  improvement  of  aerial  navigation. 

Indirectly  the  development  of  American  inven- 
tive genius  has  been  due  to  the  fostering  caie  of 
the  Patent  Office.  It  is  estimated  by  statisticians 
that  two-thirds  of  all  the  national  wealth  is  the 
product  of  inventions.  Great  industries  have 
been  called  into  existence  through  the  patent  sys- 
tem, and  have  given  employment  to  hundreds  of 


THE  PATENT  OFFICE  93 

thousands  of  people  with  wages  and  salaries  ag- 
gregating hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars.  In 
less  than  40  years  the  activities  of  the  inventor  in 
the  field  of  electrical  application  have  resulted  in 
the  filing  of  patents  which  have  built  up  an  in- 
dustry with  a  total  investment  of  $7,000,000,000. 

There  are  43  general  divisions  in  the  Patent 
OflSce  under  which  applications  for  jjatents  are 
made,  embracing  all  the  known  arts.  These  gen- 
eral classes  in  turn  are  each  divided  into  sub- 
classes, and  there  are  many  thousands  of  sub- 
jects upon  which  patents  are  issued.  Every  ap- 
plicant for  a  patent  pays  a  stated  fee  ($35)  for 
his  patent.  This,  with  the  other  receipts  of  the 
Patent  Office,  has  created  a  net  surplus  of  over 
$7,000,000.  In  other  words,  in  spite  of  the  vast 
benefit  conferred  upon  the  Nation  by  inventors, 
they  have  been  taxed  $7,000,000  more  than  it  cost 
to  maintain  the  American  patent  system. 

A  great  celebration  was  held  in  the  city  of 
Washington  in  1891  in  honor  of  the  first  cen- 
tennial of  American  patent  history.  Four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  patents  had  been  issued 
up  to  that  time.  Statesmen,  inventors,  and  pub- 
licists were  enthusiastic  in  boasting  of  the 
achievements  of  the  century.  Since  that  time 
only  20  years  have  passed,  yet  in  those  20  short 
years  more  patents  have  been  granted  than  in  the 
full  century  that  went  before.  In  that  year  Con- 
gress made  an  investigation  of  the  wage  problem 
which  showed  that  the  average  mechanic  was  then 


94       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

getting  twice  as  much  wages  as  his  predecessor 
in  1840.  The  average  mechanic  of  1911  gets 
twice  as  much  as  his  predecessor  of  1891.  It  will 
be  seen,  therefore,  that  wages  for  labor  have 
practically  quadrupled  since  the  dawn  of  the  age 
of  labor-saving  machinery  in  America.  Yet  at 
the  beginning  laboring  men  were  violently  op- 
posed to  the  adoption  of  such  machinery. 

More  patents  have  been  issued  for  inventions 
relating  to  transportation  than  upon  any  other 
line  of  human  activity.  These  inventions  have 
resulted  in  a  great  saving  to  the  people  and  have 
made  possible  a  civilization  which  could  never 
have  come  into  existence  but  for  them.  In  the 
early  history  of  the  country  it  was  no  unusual 
thing  to  pay  from  20  to  30  cents  a  ton  per  mile 
for  the  transportation  of  freight.  To-day  the 
average  ton  of  freight  in  the  United  States  is 
hauled  a  full  mile  for  less  than  1  cent. 

In  no  other  realm  have  the  labors  of  the  Amer- 
ican inventor  and  the  fostering  care  of  the  Patent 
Office  served  a  better  purpose  than  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  apparatus  with  which  the  fanner 
produces  the  things  that  men  eat  and  the  raw 
material  out  of  which  they  make  their  clothing. 
Without  the  farm  machinery  which  the  United 
states  has  given  to  the  world,  mankind  neces- 
sarily would  be  still  a  race  of  small  farmers. 
There  could  be  no  big  cities ;  a  thousand  arts  and 
sciences  could  flourish  only  in  an  indifferent  way 
if  at  all. 


THE  PATENT  OFFICE  95 

The  development  of  agricultural  maclimery  has 
so  enhanced  the  productive  power  of  the  indi- 
vidual farmer  that  fully  three-fourths  of  those 
who  formerly  obtained  their  living  by  tilling  the 
soil  may  now  find  profitable  occupation  in  other 
vocations.  According  to  authentic  statistics  it 
cost  an  average  of  $4.95  an  acre  to  cut  wheat 
with  the  old-time  sickle.  The  invention  of  the 
grain  cradle  reduced  this  cost  to  $2.60  an  acre. 
The  big  steam  harvester  threshers  have  lowered 
it  to  50  cents  an  acre.  When  the  Chicago  World's 
Fair  was  held  a  delegation  of  foreign  agricul- 
turists were  taken  to  a  big  Dakota  ranch  and 
shown  how  American  wheat  may  be  harvested  at 
a  smaller  cost  per  bushel  than  the  mere  cost  of 
food  of  slave  labor  under  old-time  conditions. 

It  is  estimated  that  if  the  world's  crop  of  wheat 
were  harvested  without  the  aid  of  modern  ma- 
chinery of  American  invention,  the  annual  addi- 
tional expense  would  be  half  a  billion  dollars. 
More  than  50,000  patents  have  been  issued  upon 
inventions  relating  to  agriculture  by  the  Ameri- 
can Patent  Office,  and  the  present  day  value  of 
the  farm  machinery  and  tools  in  the  United 
States  aggregates  a  billion  dollars.  With  these 
the  farmer  has  been  able  to  make  his  property 
holdings  worth  some  $40,000,000,000  and  his  an- 
nual gross  income  greater  than  the  capital  value 
of  all  the  trusts  of  the  United  States. 

Yet  the  maker  of  agricultural  implements  de- 
clares that  the  application  of  machinery  to  farm 


96       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

work  is  only  in  its  infancy.  It  has  been  demon- 
strated that  denatured  alcohol  can  be  utilized  as 
motive  power  for  all  sorts  of  farm  operations, 
and  that  the  farmer  may  make  this  motive  power 
from  potatoes  grown  on  his  own  farm,  and  that 
with  it  he  can  conduct  his  farming  operations 
more  economically  than  with  the  horse.  The  ar- 
rival of  the  horseless  age  on  the  farm  would  re- 
sult in  the  saving  of  nearly  a  hundred  million 
tons  of  hay  and  grass,  with  grain  in  proportion. 

Another  illustration  of  the  future  which  the 
Patent  Office  hopes  some  day  to  make  possible 
is  the  wonder-working  results  that  would  be  ac- 
complished by  the  discovery  of  an  economical 
process  of  gathering  nitrogen  from  the  air.  This 
element,  when  applied  to  the  soil  in  proper  quan- 
tities, possesses  the  almost  magical  power  of 
making  four  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one 
grew  before.  It  is  one  of  the  most  plentiful 
things  in  the  world,  existing  in  incalculable  quan- 
tities in  the  free  air,  but  coming  down  to  serve 
as  plant  food  only  upon  the  wings  of  the  light- 
ning and  the  bosom  of  the  rain  drop.  The  in- 
ventor who  will  find  a  cheap  method  of  extract- 
ing it  will  make  the  United  States  able  to  support 
a  population  of  300,000,000  people  more  easily 
than  it  now  supports  90,000,000. 

It  is  only  60  years  since  manufacturing  became 
one  of  the  national  activities  of  the  United  States, 
largely  under  the  stimulating  influence  of  the 
American  patent  system.      Since  that  time  the 


THE  PATENT  OFFICE  97 

value  of  our  manufactures  has  increased  more 
than  fifteenfold;  the  wages  of  the  factory  em- 
ployees of  the  country  have  been  multiplied  by 
10;  and  the  number  of  men  and  women  finding 
employment  in  factory  work  has  been  quintupled. 
Statisticians  figure  that  under  former  conditions 
it  would  require  at  least  a  hundred  million 
employees  to  turn  out  the  products  now  made 
in  the  factories  of  the  United  States  by  the 
5,000,000  men  and  women  engaged  in  factory 
work. 

The  inventor  of  machinery  for  the  factory  has 
rendered  a  signal  service  to  humanity.  He  has 
proved  himself  wonderfully  versatile.  He  has 
devised  a  huge  hydraulic  forge  able  to  exert  a 
pressure  of  14,000  tons;  he  has  made  a  machine 
which  will  cut  a  screw  thread  with  260  turns  to 
the  inch.  One  of  his  machines  will  produce  a 
giant  cable  many  inches  in  diameter  and  another 
a  wire  one-tenth  the  diameter  of  a  woman's  hair. 
One  machine  will  weave  an  iron  netting  so  heavy 
that  it  will  serve  as  the  front  of  a  tiger's  cage, 
and  another  a  steel  gauze  so  fine  that  it  has  40,- 
000  meshes  to  the  square  inch.  One  inventor  will 
produce  a  cutting  machine  which  will  make  slices 
so  thin  that  thousands  may  be  piled  up  in  a  layer 
an  inch  high,  and  another  a  steel  saw  so  strong 
that  it  will  cut  a  groove  through  the  hardest 
metal  with  as  much  ease  as  a  knife  cuts  a  slice  of 
bread. 

The  manufacturei  is  able  to  take  a  piece  of 


98       THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

iron  and  transform  it  into  a  giant  boiler,  into 
hairsprings  for  watches  worth  13  times  their 
weight  in  gold,  or  into  watch  screws  so  small  that 
a  hundred  thousand  may  be  put  into  a  thimble. 
One  of  the  most  striking  cases  of  labor  saving 
through  the  patent  system  is  that  of  mechanical 
shoemaking.  By  the  old-fashioned  cobblers' 
methods,  it  took  the  shoemaker  two  days  to  pro- 
duce a  pair  of  shoes.  To-day  that  pair  of  shoes 
may  be  made  in  20  minutes,  60  operatives  and  45 
machines  being  utilized  in  the  process. 

It  requires  billions  of  boxes  to  carry  the  fruit 
and  berries  of  the  country  to  the  urban  consumer. 
The  same  ingenuity  that  has  made  it  possible  for 
the  American  inventor  to  produce  a  bit  that  will 
bore  a  square  hole  has  enabled  him  to  evolve  a 
machine  which  takes  in  raw  strips  of  lumber  and 
turns  out  completed  boxes.  One  girl  and  a  box- 
making  machine  will  turn  out  12,000  berry  bas- 
kets or  4,000  grape  baskets  in  a  day. 

The  genius  of  the  inventor  brings  hundreds  of 
comforts  to  the  poor  which  could  not  be  enjoyed 
by  the  rich  before  the  rise  of  the  American  patent 
system.  A  century  ago  it  took  the  earnings  of 
32  days  of  common  labor  to  buy  a  single  linen 
bed  sheet.  Now  even  the  poorest  may  have  them. 
A  century  ago  it  required  the  labor  of  days  to 
buy  a  gridiron.  To-day  the  workman  in  the 
street  makes  enough  in  an  hour  to  buy  a  good 
one.  A  little  more  than  a  century  ago  the  activi- 
ties of  one-half  of  the  civilized  world  were  en- 


THE  PATENT   OFFICE  99 

tirely  absorbed  in  providing  clothes  for  the 
people. 

Although  many  marvelous  inventions  are  in- 
cluded in  the  files  of  the  Patent  Office,  it  is  quite 
generally  believed  by  patent  authorities  that  the 
years  to  come  will  far  surpass  those  that  are 
gone.  One  of  the  problems  engaging  the  atten- 
tion of  inventors  to-day  is  that  of  economically 
using  the  fuel  which  has  been  stored  in  the  earth 
in  the  form  of  coal.  It  is  said  that  the  coal  mined 
in  the  United  States  in  a  single  year  represents 
almost  as  much  work  as  the  entire  human  race 
could  do  in  a  full  generation.  The  energy  in  a 
pound  of  anthracite  coal  is  equivalent  to  that  ex- 
pended by  a  hod  carrier  in  10  hours'  work.  Yet 
the  proportion  of  this  energy  utilized  under 
present-day  methods  is  less  than  the  hod  carrier 
would  spend  in  50  minutes.  A  piece  of  coal 
weighing  less  than  2  pounds  has  in  it  as  much 
power  as  is  exerted  by  a  horse  pulling  a  pjow 
from  sun  to  sun.  If  all  the  energy  of  coal  were 
utilized  it  would  require  only  300  tons  to  drive  a 
Lusitania  across  the  Atlantic.  Gradually  the  pat- 
ents that  are  being  issued  are  increasing  the  per- 
centage of  energy  which  may  be  extracted  from 
coal,  and  there  is  even  hope  that  the  laboratory 
processes  of  making  electricity  directly  from  coal 
may  become  commercially  feasible. 

But  suppose  none  of  them  work  out,  and  the 
present  wasteful  methods  of  coal  mining  and  use 
finally  exhaust  the  coal  supply?    "Will  we  then  be 


100     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

deprived  of  the  necessarily  abundant  supply  of 
motive  power?  The  inventor  has  already  an- 
swered this  question  by  bringing  out  a  solar  en- 
gine. It  needs  only  cloudless  skies  and  hot  cli- 
mates for  its  successful  operation.  Along  the 
water  fronts  of  the  desert  regions  of  the  world 
may  be  found  strips  of  land  a  mile  wide  with  an 
aggregate  length  of  more  than  8,000  miles.  With 
solar  engines  to  develop  the  wasted  sunshine  of 
these  regions,  2,000,000,000  horsepower  could  be 
utilized  through  9  hours  a  day — enough  to  turn 
every  wheel  in  the  world.  There  men  could  cool 
their  houses  with  refrigerating  machinery  driven 
by  the  heat  of  the  sun.  They  could  drive  their 
factories,  turn  the  desert  into  a  land  perennially 
flowing  with  the  milk  and  honey  of  plenty  by  ir- 
rigation, and  could  eliminate  a  majority  of  the 
wasteful  processes  of  modern  civilization,  all  by 
the  direct  application  of  the  heat  of  the  sun  as 
motive  power.  The  electricity  for  their  rail- 
roads, their  automobiles,  and  their  lights  could 
be  generated  by  it.  They  could  lead  lives  all  but 
independent  of  mundane  weather  conditions,  and 
might  look  back  upon  the  civilization  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  as  we  now  look  back  upon  that  of 
centuries  ago. 

If  the  records  of  the  Patent  Office  could  reveal 
all  of  the  comedy  and  tragedy  they  contain  they 
would  furnish  a  fascinating  chapter  in  the  story 
of  the  activities  of  the  American  Government. 
Thousands  of  men  and  women  have  pursued  that 


THE  PATENT  OFFICE  101 

will-o'-the-wisp  of  invention — perpetual  motion. 
Many  of  them,  at  last  realizing  that  their  long 
quest  has  been  in  vain,  have  committed  suicide; 
other  hundreds  have  wrestled  with  the  problem 
until  their  minds  have  broken  down  under  the 
strain.  The  Patent  Office  tells  every  applicant 
that  the  one  essential  thing  to  be  produced  is  a 
working  model.  Of  course,  no  such  model  is  pos- 
sible, and  the  would-be  inventor  goes  away  dis- 
appointed and  certain  that  the  Government  has 
maltreated  him  by  demanding  it.  The  ingenuity 
of  those  who  have  tried  to  devise  perpetual  mo- 
tion machines  is  worthy  of  a  better  cause.  One 
of  them  used  a  water  wheel  for  pumping  water 
into  a  basin  above  the  wheel.  This  water,  in 
turn,  was  expected  to  pump  more  water  into  the 
basin  by  turning  the  wheel  as  it  descended.  An- 
other wrestler  with  the  problem  used  a  wheel 
and  a  large  number  of  metal  balls.  Arms  were 
so  arranged  on  the  wheel  that  as  it  turned 
around  the  balls  would  roll  out  to  the  extremity 
of  the  arm  until  they  reached  the  lowest  point, 
and  then  would  roll  back  to  the  hub  of  the  wheel 
as  they  ascended  on  the  other  side.  The  inventor 
believed  that  the  power  applied  by  the  balls  going 
downward  would  exceed  that  required  to  raise 
the  ones  traveling  upward,  and  that  thus  a  per- 
petual motion  would  be  established. 

The  officials  of  the  Patent  Office  often  have 
very  amusing  experiences.  Some  years  ago  a 
minister  from  a  southern  city  came  to  the  Patent 


102     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Office  and  asked  the  chief  of  the  Drafting  Di- 
vision to  have  made  for  him  a  drawing  of  an  ap- 
paratus he  had  for  finding  keyholes  in  doors  after 
dark.  The  number  of  peculiar  patents  that  have 
been  issued  is  surprising.  One  of  these  is  a  de- 
vice to  enable  a  man  buried  alive  to  signal  to  the 
people  outside  his  desire  to  be  released  from  the 
grave.  Another  covers  a  device  in  the  shape  of 
a  collision-proof  railroad  train.  It  carried  trucks 
fore-and-aft  with  rails  running  over  the  roof  of 
the  train  so  that  one  train  overtaking  or  passing 
another  would  run  over  the  top  of  the  other  train 
instead  of  colliding  with  it.  Another  invention 
for  the  prevention  of  collisions  consists  of  a  large 
truck  several  hundred  feet  long  built  on  the  lazy- 
tong  principle. 

It  required  120  years  for  the  Patent  Office  to 
issue  its  first  million  patents,  the  millionth  one 
having  been  issued  August  8,  1911.  At  the  rate 
patents  are  being  issued  to-day  the  next  million 
will  be  issued  in  less  than  30  years. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  early  future  the  Gov- 
ernment will  undertake  the  erection  of  a  new  pat- 
ent office  building.  The  patent  records,  repre- 
senting the  ingenuity  of  a  century,  and  worth 
millions  of  dollars  to  the  Government,  are  now 
housed  in  such  a  way  that  a  fire  breaking  out 
in  the  building  would  probably  end  in  almost  total 
loss  of  these  records.  Many  years  ago  there 
was  such  a  fire,  and  at  that  time  thousands  of 
models  of  vast  historic  interest  were  destroyed. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

What  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  to  the 
farmer,  the  Geological  Survey  is  to  the  miner,  the 
manufacturer,  the  builder,  the  railroader,  the  irri- 
gationist,  the  drainer  of  swamp  lands,  the  digger 
of  deep  waterways;  in  short,  to  everybody  who 
has  occasion  to  know  anything  about  topography, 
geology,  mineral  and  water  resources,  structural 
materials,  and  waste  utilization.  It  is  a  sort  of 
John  the  Baptist  in  the  wilderness  of  undeveloped 
resources,  preparing  the  way  for  those  who  would 
most  effectively  utilize  these  vast  resources,  and 
laying  the  foundations  for  future  engineering, 
construction,  and  conservation  work.  It  is  a  sort 
of  watchdog  over  the  natural  wealth  of  the  Na- 
tion. In  this  capacity  it  stands  guardian  over 
millions  of  dollars  of  natural  wealth,  where  the 
watchdog  of  the  Treasury  stands  guardian  over 
thousands  of  dollars  of  actual  gold  and  silver. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  activities  of  the 
Survey  is  the  making  of  a  great  geologic  map  of 
the  United  States.  This  map  is  so  exhaustive 
and  requires  such  close  investigation  that  work 
has  been  carried  forward  on  it  for  some  30  years, 

103 


104     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

and  yet  it  covers  only  a  comparatively  small  por- 
tion of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  map  which  in 
large  part  is  being  made  on  the  scales  of  1  and  2 
miles  to  the  inch.  Such  a  map  on  a  scale  of  1  mile 
to  the  inch  would  require  a  sheet  of  paper  about 
240  by  180  feet,  practically  half  a  city  block  in 
area.  Of  course,  it  will  be  impossible  to  make 
such  a  map  on  one  plate,  so  it  is  being  made  piece 
by  piece,  and  the  individual  sheets  are  bound  to- 
gether with  descriptive  text  accompanying  them. 

The  first  essential  in  the  making  of  this  map  is 
a  topographic  survey  and  map  of  the  land  to  be 
geologically  platted.  This  topographic  map, 
which  is  also  in  sections  to  correspond  with  the 
geologic  map,  is  made  by  another  branch  of  the 
Geological  Survey.  The  topographic  map  sheets 
are  in  themselves  peerless  results  of  geographic 
surveying.  They  show  every  physical  character- 
istic of  the  surface  of  the  area  surveyed.  Every 
mountain,  hill,  valley,  slope,  stream,  swamp,  and 
all  the  works  of  man  are  exactly  portrayed;  in- 
deed, a  clever  model  maker  may  take  one  in  hand 
and  by  it  construct  a  miniature  model  of  the  area 
shown  on  the  map.  Over  one-third  of  the  United 
States  has  been  thus  mapped.  Aside  from  its 
use  as  a  base  for  geologic  work,  the  topographic 
map  has  come  to  have  a  high  intrinsic  value  as  a 
base  map  for  all  engineering  work. 

In  order  to  map  the  geology  of  a  region,  the 
geologist  must  determine  the  character  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  individual  rough  masses  and  their 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY        105 

relation  to  one  another.  He  must  travel  over  the 
whole  area  and  plat  all  outcrops  and  ledges  of 
rock.  The  dips  of  the  rocks  must  be  measured  in 
order  to  determine  the  amount  of  deformation 
they  have  undergone  and  other  most  particular 
studies  must  be  made. 

A  knowledge  of  fossil  remains  of  plants,  birds, 
animals,  and  fishes  is  often  of  great  assistance 
to  the  geologist  in  locating  various  mineral  de- 
posits. For  instance,  there  is  a  particular  fossil 
mollusk  which  is  of  the  same  geologic  age  as  cer- 
tain coal  deposits.  When  the  geologist  discovers 
one  of  these  he  knows  that  coal  may  be  not  far 
distant.  These  fossils  are  utilized  as  keys  to 
translate  the  secrets  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 

When  this  great  geologic  map  is  completed  it 
will  constitute  a  most  remarkable  exposition  of  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  United  States.  Each 
section  of  the  map  reveals  minutely  the  mineral 
resources,  the  geologic  formation,  the  character 
of  the  soil,  the  underground  water,  and  a  hun- 
dred other  things  which  are  of  immeasurable 
value  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The 
topographic  map  upon  which  the  one  dealing  with 
the  geologic  formations  of  the  country  is  based 
is  being  projected  on  a  scale  of  a  mile  to  the 
inch  in  the  more  thickly  settled  regions  of  the 
United  States ;  approximately  2  miles  to  the  inch 
in  other  sections  and,  in  most  cases,  4  miles  to  the 
inch  in  Alaska.     A  surveying  party  is  able  to 


106     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

cover  a  maximum  of  500  square  miles  in  a  season 
in  making  this  map,  and  the  cost  of  the  work 
varies  from  $12  to  $30  a  square  mile,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  country. 

In  addition  to  being  a  mapmaker,  engraver,  and 
printer,  the  Geological  Survey  is  perhaps  the 
world's  greatest  prospector.  By  the  expenditure 
of  less  than  10  cents  an  acre  in  examination  to 
ascertain  the  presence  and  quantity  of  coal  de- 
posits, the  Survey  has  increased  the  value  of 
thousands  of  acres  of  land  from  $20  to  $400  an 
acre.  Some  70,000,000  acres  of  coal  lands  still 
remain  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States 
Government.  Under  the  construction  of  the  coal 
law,  all  such  lands  within  15  miles  of  a  railroad 
were  to  be  sold  at  not  less  than  $20  an  acre;  all 
over  15  miles  from  a  railroad  should  be  sold  at 
not  less  than  $10  an  acre,  the  minimum  price.  In 
practice  $10  and  $20  was  made  the  uniform  sell- 
ing price. 

A  new  order  of  things  now  prevails.  The  Sur- 
vey geologist  goes  upon  these  coal  lands,  locates 
an  out-cropping  bed  of  coal,  measures  its  thick- 
ness at  many  points,  studies  its  altitude,  deter- 
mines its  faults,  and  passes  on  its  quality.  A 
board  of  geologists  then  calculates  the  amount 
of  coal  on  each  tract  of  40  acres,  plats  it  on  the 
official  maps,  and  computes  the  value  of  the  tract 
on  the  basis  of  the  coal  in  the  ground.  The  price 
then  fixed  is  a  nice  adjustment  which  shall  en- 
courage development,  but  prevent  the  acquisition 


THE  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY         107 

of  the  coal  lands  for  speculative  purposes.  Ac- 
cording to  quality  of  coal  and  ease  of  mining,  the 
prices  range  from  one-half  cent  to  3  cents  a  ton. 

But  even  at  this  remarkably  low  figure,  the 
Government  is  able  to  dispose  of  the  coal  lands 
at  a  largely  enhanced  value.  The  maximum  value 
of  a  single  township  in  Wyoming  under  the  old 
regulations  was  $2,088,600.  Under  the  new  regu- 
lations its  value  is  $15,777,660.  Probably  not 
more  than  a  third  of  the  coal  lands  owned  by  the 
United  States  have  been  surveyed  in  detail,  but 
when  the  work  is  completed  Uncle  Sam  will  find 
himself  vastly  richer  than  if  he  had  continued  to 
dispose  of  his  properties  on  the  old  basis  of  sale. 
From  April,  1909,  to  August,  1911,  the  Survey 
classified  and  valued  16,873,370  acres  of  coal  land 
vnth  a  total  new  system  valuation  of  $711,992,537, 
as  against  $266,652,431  under  the  old  system. 
The  latest  estimates  show  that  there  are  over 
three  trillion  short  tons  of  coal  still  unmined  in 
the  United  States  and  nearly  five  billion  tons  of 
easily  available  coal,  perhaps  half  of  which  is  to 
be  found  in  the  lands  still  under  Government  own- 
ership and  control.  Over  40  per  cent  of  the  landed 
area  of  the  United  States  is  still  owned  by  the 
Federal  Government,  and  of  this  practically  half 
a  billion  acres  remain  unsurveyed. 

One  of  the  prospecting  activities  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  is  that  of  determining  the  location 
and  extent  of  the  phosphate  beds  of  the  country. 
Phosphorus  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  growth 


108     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

of  the  plant  life  which  constitutes  the  prime 
source  of  the  American  food  supply.  As  food, 
raiment,  and  water  are  the  three  essentials  of 
human  welfare,  so  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phospho- 
ric acid  are  the  absolute  essentials  of  plant 
growth. 

Potash  exists  in  the  rocks  in  unlimited  quanti- 
ties, awaiting  only  the  perfection  of  a  cheap 
method  of  extraction  to  supply  every  need.  The 
great  German  deposits  of  potash  salts  also  af- 
ford an  enormous  supply.  The  leguminous  plants, 
with  their  little  chemical  laboratories  at  their 
roots,  can  take  enough  nitrogen  from  the  air  to 
supply  this  necessary  element  as  can  also  a  re- 
cently discovered  electrochemical  process.  But 
when  the  phosphate  beds  are  gone  no  one  yet  has 
solved  the  problem  of  where  the  world's  future 
supply  of  phosphoric  acid  will  come  from.  There 
are  thousands  of  acres  of  phosphate  beds  in  the 
western  part  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is  the 
aim  of  the  Geological  Survey  so  to  protect  them 
that  they  will  continue  for  many  generations  to 
come  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  crop-growers  of 
the  United  States.  The  Geological  Survey  is  also 
prosecuting  a  potash  search  in  the  West,  and  is 
drilling  into  the  depths  of  the  earth  for  deposits 
of  potash  salts,  which  will  make  the  United 
States  independent  of  Germany  for  this  necessary 
fertilizer. 

The  oil  wells  of  the  public  domain  are  also  the 
subject  of  much  study  or  the  part  of  the  officials 


TESTING  MINE  RESCUE  APPARATUS. 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY        109 

of  the  Survey.  The  petroleum  supply  has  a  dif- 
ferent status  from  the  other  mineral  supplies  of 
the  country.  The  oil  deposits  are  entered  under 
the  old  placer  gold  mining  law.  A  man  must  dis- 
cover some  mineral  before  he  has  a  right  to  the 
public  land  on  which  it  is  located.  If  a  man  thought 
he  had  found  oil  and  had  begun  to  bore  for  it, 
some  other  fellow  could  run  in  and  bore  close 
to  him  and  the  one  who  got  oil  first  would  get 
the  right  to  the  property  by  discovery.  Conse- 
quently, it  was  not  a  profitable  thing  to  gamble 
on  finding  oil  under  such  circumstances.  The  re- 
sult was  that  subterfuges  were  resorted  to.  Gyp- 
sum deposits  that  are  commercially  worthless 
are  to  be  found  in  the  oil  territory  in  California. 
An  oil  prospector  finds  gypsum  on  a  tract  of 
land,  and  claims  it  by  right  of  discovery,  on  the 
ground  that  gypsum  is  a  mineral  within  the  mean- 
ing of  the  law.  The  law  requires  that  $500  shall 
be  spent  in  the  development  of  these  tracts,  and 
one  may  travel  through  the  oil  country  and  see 
magnificent  gypsum  stairways  standing  in  the 
open.  They  lead  nowhere  but  to  a  perfect  title 
for  oil  lands,  and  are  standing  proof  of  the  techni- 
cal fulfillment  of  the  law  and  the  absolute  viola- 
tion of  its  spirit.  The  Government  now  holds 
several  million  acres  of  oil  lands  withdrawn  from 
public  entry  until  Congress  shall  make  a  new  law 
which  will  protect  the  oil  resources  from  being 
gobbled  up  by  speculators. 
Not  only  has  the  Geological  Survey  been  a  pros- 


no     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

pector  and  gatherer  of  important  information 
with  reference  to  the  public  domain  and  concern- 
ing the  mineral  industries  of  the  country,  but  it 
has  been  an  experimenter  of  the  first  rank  in  solv- 
ing problems  of  conservation.  A  notable  instance 
of  this  is  its  work  of  fostering  industries  for  the 
utilization  of  the  coal  dust  and  slack  coal  from 
the  mouths  of  the  coal  mines  of  the  country.  This 
material  was  always  a  menace  around  the  mouth 
of  the  mine,  consisting  of  coal  dust  and  coal  too 
poor  for  shipping  or  for  burning  in  any  ordinary 
grate.  No  one  knows  w^hen  a  big  pile  of  this  ma- 
terial will  catch  fire  and  do  untold  damage.  The 
Survey  experts  saw  these  piles  of  unusable  coal 
and  lent  their  efforts  to  their  utilization.  In 
Europe  such  waste  material  is  pressed  into  blocks 
called  ''briquettes."  The  Survey  installed  ex- 
perimental briquette  machines,  and  to-day  the 
briquetting  industry  has  reached  the  commercial 
stage.  Small  sizes  of  coal,  heretofore  wasted,  are 
now  being  burned  in  specially  constructed  grates. 
The  Survey  also  installed  a  huge  German  briquet- 
ting  machine  for  making  briquettes  out  of  the 
unsold  millions  of  tons  of  lignite  coal  by  simple 
pressure  and  without  the  use  of  a  "binder,"  the 
most  expensive  factor  in  briquette  making. 

Another  line  of  experimentation  which  prom- 
ises much  for  the  future  was  carried  on  for  a 
number  of  years  by  the  Survey.  Its  investiga- 
tions demonstrated  that  by  using  producer-gas 
engines,  the  power  derived  from  a  ton  of  coal 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY         111 

may  be  trebled  as  compared  with  the  power  de- 
rived from  the  same  ton  of  coal  through  a  steam 
engine.  Furthermore,  the  very  lowest  grades  of 
coal  may  be  used  in  making  producer-gas,  a  ton 
of  such  coal  going  as  far  as  a  ton  of  the  best  Po- 
cahontas coal  used  with  steam  power.  Largely 
through  the  educational  work  being  done  by  the 
officials  of  the  Geological  Survey,  it  is  believed, 
the  number  of  producer-gas  engines  in  use  was 
quintupled  in  a  single  year.  The  general  adop- 
tion of  producer-gas  power  would  result  in  the 
saving  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  annu- 
ally, and,  by  making  the  cheapest  grades  of  coal 
available,  would  extend  industrial  enterprises  into 
sections  of  the  country  heretofore  considered  to 
be  without  fuel  and  would  further  extend  the  date 
of  the  exhaustion  of  the  coal  supply  to  a  period 
far  beyond  the  interest  of  the  living  generation. 
The  wonderful  expansion  in  the  use  of  concrete 
and  structural  steel  and  other  fire-resistant  build- 
ing materials,  which  has  come  about  in  recent 
years,  has  been  due  in  a  large  degree  to  the  ex- 
haustive experimental  and  educative  work  of  the 
Geological  Survey.  These  investigations  were 
made  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
for  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury,  the 
Engineering  Board  of  the  War  Department,  the 
Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  and  the  Navy,  the 
behavior  of  concrete,  reenforced  concrete,  clay 
products,  stone,  and  miscellaneous  building  ma- 
terials, under  the  action  of  fire,  water,  acids,  al- 


112     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

kali,  stress,  and  other  destructive  agencies.  The 
result  of  these  investigations,  however,  has  been 
published  widely.  The  investigations  embrace 
studies  of  relative  cost,  durability,  and  strength, 
and  give  every  sort  of  information  with  reference 
to  structural  materials  needed  in  the  erection  of 
any  sort  of  structure,  from  a  bungalow  to  a 
40-story  skyscraper.  Since  1910  this  work  has 
been  continued  by  the  Bureau  of  Standards.  The 
work  of  investigating  mine  accidents  and  testing 
fuels  has  been  transferred  from  the  Survey  to 
the  new  Bureau  of  Mines,  whose  field  of  operation 
covers  the  technical  work  of  mining. 

Records  of  the  daily  flow  of  streams  have  been 
collected  at  more  than  1,500  points  throughout 
the  United  States  by  the  Geological  Survey,  and 
at  present  500  stations  for  stream  measurements 
are  being  maintained.  Studies  have  been  made 
of  their  mean  flow,  their  flood  stages,  their  low- 
water  marks,  and  all  other  essential  data  which, 
will  serve  the  developers  of  power,  the  irriga- 
tionists,  the  swamp  drainers,  and  the  deep  water- 
way diggers.  The  Survey  is  often  put  to  a  severe 
test  in  its  efforts  to  measure  correctly  the  flow  of 
a  river,  and  many  unusual  contrivances  have  been 
devised  to  measure  the  depth  and  velocity  of 
water  at  a  given  point  in  a  river  bed.  One  may 
wonder  of  what  practical  use  such  studies  are, 
but  a  hundred  activities  depend  upon  them.  The 
Government  is  spending  over  $60,000,000  on  irri- 
gation projects,  and  is  expecting    to    get    three 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY         113 

times  as  mucli  back  in  national  wealth,  and  the 
basic  water  resources  investigations  made  by  the 
Survey  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  success  of 
this  work.  It  is  as  important  that  the  irriga- 
tionist  know  the  water  flow  on  which  he  bases 
his  project,  as  it  is  that  the  architect  shall  know 
the  character  of  the  foundation  upon  which  he 
rears  his  skyscraper.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
water-power  development.  No  river  and  harbor 
improvement  program  can  be  carried  out  success- 
fully without  details  as  to  silt  deposits,  stream 
flow,  and  low-water  marks.  The  Survey  has  been 
making  these  investigations  for  more  than  15 
years,  and  it  is  largely  upon  the  data  thus  gath- 
ered that  Congress  provides  for  the  deepening  of 
rivers  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  activities  of  the  Geological  Survey  show 
results  in  many  unexpected  places.  One  would 
hardly  look  for  effects  of  this  work  in  the  mone- 
tary affairs  of  the  Government,  but  it  has  recently 
developed  into  an  important  factor  in  maintaining 
a  stable  money  market.  The  work  of  the  Survey 
in  the  single  little  arm  of  Alaska,  known  as  Se- 
ward Peninsula,  may  have  had  some  bearing  on 
the  development  of  a  gold  supply  which  yields  a 
steady  stream  of  from  five  to  seven  million  dol- 
lars' worth  of  gold  every  year.  This  is  enough 
to  pay  the  entire  purchase  price  of  Alaska.  The 
Survey  has  but  little  more  than  begun  its  investi- 
gations in  this  giant  young  Territory,  but  it  has 
already  ascertained  enough  to  show  that  it  is  the 


114     THE   ALIERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

biggest  land-buying  bargain  a  nation  ever  drove, 
if  we  except  tlie  great  Louisiana  Purchase. 

The  work  which  is  now  being  done  by  the  Bu- 
reau of  Mines  formerly  was  part  of  the  activities 
of  the  Geological  Survey.  How  important  is  the 
matter  of  protecting  the  mining  industry  of  the 
United  States  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  65  per 
cent  of  the  traffic  of  the  railroads  of  the  country 
originates  in  the  mines,  and  that  about  2,000,000 
wage-earners  are  constantly  engaged  in  mining 
operations.  Without  the  products  of  the  mine  the 
factories  could  not  have  been  built ;  the  railways 
never  could  have  been  constructed.  But  the  miner 
has  been  wasteful  in  his  methods,  and  in  some 
cases  has  taken  out  as  low  as  only  40  per  cent 
of  the  coal  in  the  mine.  The  difference  between 
the  greater  cost  of  clean  mining,  as  compared  with 
the  lesser  cost  of  wasteful  mining,  often  means 
the  difference  between  profitable  and  unprofitable 
operation.  One  of  the  tasks  assigned  to  the  Bu- 
reau of  Mines  is  to  attempt  to  discover  methods 
of  operation  whereby  it  will  be  profitable  to  take 
practically  all  of  the  coal  out  of  a  mine.  The 
coal  production  of  the  country  now  aggregates  a 
half  billion  tons  every  year,  and  it  is  calculated 
that  the  annual  waste  of  coal  amounts  almost  to 
half  as  much. 

In  addition  to  investigating  economical  meth- 
ods of  mining,  the  Bureau  of  Mines  is  assigned 
the  task  of  trying  to  determine  the  conditions 
which  lead  up  to  mine  explosions  and  the  methods 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SUR\^Y        115 

of  preventing  them.  It  seeks  to  determine  what 
explosives  can  be  used  with  least  risk  in  mines 
where  gas  or  inflammable  dust  may  be  found; 
what  conditions  permit  the  safe  operation  of 
electric  equipment  in  coal  mines;  what  types  of 
mine  lamps  are  safest,  most  efficient,  and  least 
liable  to  produce  explosions;  and  what  sort  of 
artificial  breathing  apparatus  is  best  suited  for 
use  in  the  rescue  of  victims  of  mine  disasters. 

In  the  prosecution  of  investigations  looking  to 
the  ascertainment  of  what  explosives  are  least 
dangerous  in  coal  mining,  large  explosion-proof 
closed  tubes  are  used,  with  only  such  openings  as 
will  permit  the  engineers  to  watch  an  explosion. 
All  conditions  found  in  mines  are  simulated  and 
the  explosives  on  the  market  are  carefully  tested 
under  every  imaginable  kind  of  working  condi- 
tions. The  results  of  these  tests  are  used  in 
making  up  a  list  of  such  explosives  as  are  re- 
garded as  safe  in  mining  operations.  The  list  of 
^'permissible  explosives"  numbers  about  50. 

The  investigations  and  educational  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  use  of  artificial  breathing  appa- 
ratus and  other  types  of  mine  rescue  equipment 
have  been  useful  in  developing  better  methods  for 
using  such  equipment.  Thirteen  branch  mine  res- 
cue experiment  stations  have  been  established. 
These  stations  guard  the  lives  of  miners  and  the 
property  of  the  mines  in  the  same  way  that  a 
fire  department  guards  the  property  of  a  city. 
There  are  emergency  cars  fitted  up  with  all  sorts 


116     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

of  rescue  equipment.  Not  only  do  the  bureau 
experts  rush  to  every  mine  explosion  and  enter 
the  mines  in  the  work  of  rescue,  but  they  are 
training  thousands  of  miners  and  mine  foremen 
in  the  use  of  the  life-saving  apparatus. 

The  Geological  Survey  is  less  than  a  third  of 
a  century  old.  It  was  started  with  an  appropria- 
tion of  only  $100,000,  and  its  main  purpose  then 
was  to  gather  data  and  to  study  fundamental 
problems  with  reference  to  the  geology  of  the 
public  domain.  Since  then  it  has  expanded  its 
work  in  many  directions,  was  the  forerunner  of 
the  conservation  movement  in  the  United  States, 
and  has  made  itself  one  of  the  most  useful  of  all 
the  bureaus  of  the  American  Government.  It  now 
spends  approximately  $1,500,000  a  year  in  carry- 
ing forward  its  activities. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  DEPAKTMENT  OF  AGRICULTXmE. 

No  branch  of  the  executive  service  of  the  United 
States  has  contributed  more  to  the  welfare  of 
the  people  of  the  country  than  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  Under  the  influence  of  the  gospel 
of  progressive  farming  the  yield  of  wheat  has 
increased  from  10  bushels  per  acre  in  1866  to  an 
average  of  15  bushels  under  present  farming  con- 
ditions. Corn  now  yields  about  30  bushels  to  the 
acre  during  an  average  year,  as  compared  with  25 
bushels  a  half  century  ago.  Throughout  all  the 
list  of  plant  and  meat  crops  the  same  ratio  of 
expansion  has  taken  place. 

But  great  as  has  been  the  growth  in  the  past 
50  years,  it  is  believed  by  the  experts  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  that  this  expansion  will 
be  much  more  than  duplicated  during  the  coming 
50  years.  A  good  farmer  to-day  is  able  to  produce 
an  average  of  25  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  60 
bushels  of  corn,  and  a  bale  and  a  quarter  of  cot- 
ton. If  the  average  farm  crop  of  a  half  century 
hence  is  no  better  than  that  produced  by  the 
good  farmer  of  to-day,  the  total  value  of  the  crops 

117 


118     THE   AMERICAN    GOVERNMENT 

at  that  date  will  be  many  millions  of  dollars 
greater  than  it  is  to-day. 

The  increased  value  of  cotton  on  the  basis  of 
a  bale  and  a  quarter  to  the  acre  as  compared  with 
the  present  yield  of  two-fifths  of  a  bale  would 
show  an  increase  in  value  in  the  cotton  crop  alone 
amounting  to  more  than  $1,250,000,000.  Secre- 
tary James  Wilson  thinks  there  will  be  little  dif- 
ficulty in  increasing  by  half  the  jdeld  of  every 
staple  crop  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  that 
the  remarkable  progress  in  educational  work 
among  the  farmers  of  the  country  made  during 
the  past  decade  will  grow  in  amazing  proportions 
during  the  coming  quarter  of  a  century. 

While  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  devel- 
oping the  farms  and  vegetable  crops,  it  is  not 
overlooking  the  importance  of  expanding  the  live- 
stock industry.  The  live-stock  interests  of  the 
Nation  are  looked  after  by  the  Bureau  of  Ani- 
mal Industry.  This  bureau  has  charge  of  meat 
inspection,  national  quarantine  regulations  for 
live  stock,  the  study  of  animal  diseases  and  their 
relation  to  the  human  race,  and  investigations  in 
stock  raising  and  dairying. 

One-fourth  of  the  dairy  cows  of  the  United 
States  do  not  pay  market  price  for  their  feed. 
If  the  average  cow  on  the  American  farm  can  be 
induced  to  furnish  just  5  pounds  of  butter  more 
a  year,  it  will  add  $30,000,000  annually  to  the  pro- 
ductive capacity  of  the  American  dairy.  If  the 
hens  of  the  country  each  can  be  induced  to  lay 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  119 

1  dozen  eggs  more  a  year,  they  will  increase  the 
annual  value  of  the  egg  supply  to  the  extent  of 
$50,000,000. 

The  Government  expends  about  $3,000,000  a 
year  on  meat  inspection,  inspectors  being  main- 
tained at  about  a  thousand  establishments  in  237 
cities  and  towns.  Each  year  about  50,000,000  live 
animals  are  examined  before  slaughter,  and  ap- 
proximately 7,000,000,000  pounds  of  meat  is  in- 
spected after  slaughter.  Nearly  a  million  animals 
are  condemned  annually,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part.  Tuberculosis  is  the  cause  of  about  46  per 
cent  of  the  condemnations  of  cattle  products  and 
96  per  cent  of  the  condemnations  of  hog  products. 

The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  also  maintains 
an  experiment  station  at  Bethesda,  Md.,  for  in- 
vestigations in  animal  diseases,  and  has  an  experi- 
mental farm  at  Beltsville,  Md.,  where  work  in 
dairying  and  the  breeding  and  feeding  of  live 
stock  and  poultry  is  carried  on. 

This  bureau  also  has  charge  of  the  work  of 
eradicating  animal  diseases.  It  has  been  fighting 
the  Texas  fever  tick  for  years,  and  is  gradually 
succeeding  in  exterminating  this  dangerous  foe 
of  the  beef  industry.  The  bureau  recently  found 
that  over  18  per  cent  of  the  cattle  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  were  affected  with  tuberculosis.  A 
quarantine  was  established  after  the  elimination 
of  the  affected  cattle,  with  the  result  that  in  a 
year  or  two  dairy  stock  in  the  District  have  been 
practically  freed  from  the  ravages  of  this  disease. 


120     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  bureau  has  also  produced  a  highly  effective 
serum  treatment  for  the  prevention  of  hog  chol- 
era, by  means  of  which  it  is  believed  that  the  tre- 
mendous losses  from  this  disease  may  be  greatly 
reduced  and  in  time  entirely  prevented.  In  one 
experiment  there  was  a  lot  of  35  pigs.  Twenty- 
two  of  these  were  vaccinated  with  the  preventive 
serum,  four  were  inoculated  with  virulent  hog- 
cholera  blood,  so  as  to  give  them  the  disease,  and 
nine  were  untreated.  The  four  inoculated  pigs 
contracted  the  disease  and  died,  as  did  all  nine 
of  the  untreated  ones.  Every  one  of  the  22  vacci- 
nated pigs  remained  well.  The  bureau  also  pre- 
pares and  distributes  vaccine  for  the  prevention 
of  blackleg  in  cattle,  to  the  extent  of  about  a  mil- 
lion doses  a  year.  Likewise  it  distributes  tuber- 
culin for  the  diagnosis  of  tuberculosis  in  cattle, 
and  mallein  for  the  diagnosis  of  glanders  in 
horses. 

The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  has  also  had 
an  important  part  in  the  work  of  sanitary  im- 
provement of  milk  supplies,  and  has  cooperated 
with  the  authorities  of  many  cities  to  that  end. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  bureaus  in  the  de- 
partment is  that  of  Plant  Industry.  This  bureau 
studies  the  diseases  of  plants  as  carefully  as  phy- 
sicians study  the  diseases  of  men.  It  not  only 
disseminates  information  with  reference  to  the 
diseases,  but  is  constantly  experimenting  in  its 
efforts  to  produce  specific  remedies.  For  in- 
stance, it  formerly  was  the  custom  of  apple  grow- 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTUEE  121 

ers  to  spray  their  trees  with  copper  compounds. 
These  were  found  to  be  injurious,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry  worked  out  a  new  method  of 
spraying  with  noninjurious  sulphur  compounds. 
In  its  investigation  of  the  fruit  spot-and-leaf  dis- 
ease known  as  cedar  rust  or  orange  rust  of  the 
apple,  a  remarkable  fact  has  been  discovered. 
The  fungus  which  causes  the  disease  must  have 
each  alternate  generation  on  the  red  cedar.  If  the 
red  cedar  is  eliminated  from  the  vicinity  of  apple 
orchards  this  disease  is  easily  stamped  out.  This 
method  finds  a  parallel  in  the  mosquito  theory  of 
yellow  fever  in  the  human  race. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  activities  of  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  is  its  work  in  ransack- 
ing the  world  for  new  crops  for  the  American 
agriculturists.  It  has  brought  dates  from  Egypt 
and  the  oases  of  the  Sahara,  durum  wheat  from 
'Russia,  millet  from  Siberia,  wild  peaches  from 
China,  and  many  other  plants  from  every  region 
of  the  world.  In  addition  to  this,  it  has  been 
carrying  on  a  process  of  cross-breeding  in  plants 
which  has  been  of  inestimable  economic  value  to 
the  American  people.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
the  introduction  of  durum  wheat  is  worth  millions 
of  dollars.  One  of  the  remarkable  successes  of 
the  bureau  in  cross-breeding  has  been  the  devel- 
opment of  an  orange  hardier  than  the  Florida 
orange  by  crossing  that  variety  with  a  worthless 
but  hardy  orange  tree  from  Japan. 

That  the  bureau  has  a  wide  field  of  research  in 


122     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

the  adaptation  of  plants  for  the  needs  of  the 
American  people  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  there 
are  more  than  100,000  different  species  of  plants 
in  the  world,  of  which  less  than  5,000  are  utilized 
by  mankind.  The  people  of  the  United  States 
use  only  about  300  kinds,  except  in  the  most  lim- 
ited way.  One  needs  to  go  no  further  than  the 
rice  industry  to  find  what  wealth  may  be  produced 
by  an  introduced  crop.  There  are  now  upward 
of  700,000  acres  of  rice  grown  annually  in  the 
United  States  and  the  farm  value  of  the  crop 
amounts  to  $16,000,000. 

In  its  efforts  to  eliminate  **bad  burners"  from 
cigar  stands,  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  has 
constructed  a  mechanical  smoker,  consisting  of 
a  series  of  glass  tubes  so  arranged  that  each 
smokes  a  cigar  just  as  a  man  would,  except  that 
the  ''puffs"  are  of  exactly  uniform  strength  in 
each  tube.  A  carefully  adjusted  aspirator  draws 
the  proper  intermittent  current  of  air  through 
the  cigar,  and  accurate  observations  are  made  to 
determine  the  rapidity  with  which  each  one  burns. 
Each  cigar  is  carefully  scored  upon  the  several 
points  which  go  to  make  up  a  good  record.  Some 
burn  evenly,  some  rapidly,  and  some  down  on  one 
side.  In  others  the  wrapper  puckers  ahead  of  the 
fire,  and  a  black,  metallic-looking  ring  forms 
around  the  cigar.  These  are  undesirable.  The 
character  of  the  ash  is  also  tested,  and  if  it 
flakes  badly,  or  is  dark  and  dull,  the  cigar  is  not 
a  good  one. 


DEPAETMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE    123 

The  bureau  also  has  charge  of  farming  experi- 
ments and  investigations.  It  is  claimed  that  by 
intelligent  methods  of  cultivation  millions  of  acres 
of  arid  land  can  be  made  to  produce  the  finest 
kinds  of  crops,  and  that  without  irrigation.  The 
important  essential  is  to  plow  very  deep,  and  to 
plow  very  often,  thus  keeping  loose  soil  at  the 
surface,  through  which  the  moisture  below  can- 
not escape. 

The  work  of  mapping,  classifying,  and  investi- 
gating the  soils  of  the  agricultural  districts  of 
the  United  States  is  intrusted  to  the  Bureau  of 
Soils.  This  bureau  is  engaged  in  making  detailed 
maps  of  important  areas  throughout  the  better 
developed  sections  of  the  country,  and  recon- 
noissance  maps,  showing  less  detail,  of  the  Great 
Plains  region  and  other  sparsely  settled  districts. 
It  also  studies  fertilizer  requirements  and  the  re- 
lation of  different  types  of  soil  to  crops,  with  a 
view  to  determining  what  crops  can  be  grown 
most  advantageously.  Seven  hundred  different 
types  of  soil  have  been  found  in  the  areas  so  far 
surveyed. 

The  United  States  is  the  third  largest  forest 
owner  in  the  world,  being  outranked  only  by 
Russia  and  Canada.  The  area  of  the  National 
Forests  of  the  United  States  is  almost  200,000,000 
acres,  and  they  contain  more  than  500,000,000,000 
feet  of  merchantable  timber.  All  this  is  watched 
over  by  the  Forest  Service  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  which  has  a  corps  of  2,000  trained 


124     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

men.  Each  National  Forest  is  in  charge  of  a 
supervisor,  and  is  patroled  by  forest  rangers, 
who  are  stationed  at  points  where  they  may  best 
attend  to  the  needs  of  the  public  and  protect  the 
forests  from  injury  by  trespass  or  fires.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  ranger  stations,  there  are  also 
fire  lookout  stations,  and  these  are  connected  with 
central  stations  by  telephone  lines;  where  it  is 
not  possible  to  build  such  lines  they  are  pro- 
vided with  the  heliograph  and  other  systems  of 
signals.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Forest  Service  so  to 
protect  and  utilize  the  forests  of  the  country  that 
there  may  be  a  continual  supply  of  timber  for  use 
in  the  industries  and  that  the  land  may  add  most 
to  the  public  welfare. 

The  insects  of  the  country  annually  destroy 
farm  property  worth  a  billion  dollars.  The  Texas 
fever  tick  in  a  year  kills  cattle  worth  $60,000,000, 
and  the  ravages  of  the  Hessian  fly  and  the  joint 
worm  may  cut  the  value  of  a  wheat  crop  to  an 
even  greater  extent.  The  work  of  combating  the 
insect  and  similar  pests  in  the  United  States  is 
assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Entomology.  This  bu- 
reau, so  to  speak,  has  set  the  dogs  on  insect  pests 
by  bringing  from  all  parts  of  the  world  other  in- 
sects which  will  eat  them  and  destroy  their  eggs. 
One  of  the  principal  fights  this  bureau  has  on  its 
hands  at  the  present  time  is  the  effort  to  kill  out 
the  gypsy  moth  and  the  brown-tail  moth. 

One  of  the  methods  of  combating  these  two 
moths  has  been  to  bring  from  other  countries 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  125 

parasites  and  predaceous  insect  enemies  which 
will  attack  the  moth  caterpillars  and  destroy 
them.  A  predatory  beetle  from  Europe  has  multi- 
plied rapidly  and  in  some  localities  has  been  able 
to  give  the  gypsy  moth  a  tussle  for  supremacy. 
A  parasitic  fly  was  brought  over  in  1906,  and  in 
four  years  has  increased  fiftyfold  a  year,  and  has 
spread  a  distance  of  from  10  to  12  miles  in  every 
direction.  It  has  not  only  gone  after  the  gypsy 
and  brown-tail  moths,  but  it  has  turned  its  atten- 
tion to  the  fall  web-worm  and  the  tussock  moth, 
which  through  the  autumn  afford  food  for  genera- 
tions of  parasites  at  a  time  when  the  gypsy  and 
brown-tail  moths  are  not  available  as  a  food 
supply.  Still  another  species  has  been  found  to 
attack  the  caterpillars  of  the  cabbage  butterfly, 
in  addition  to  gypsy  and  brown-tail  moths.  An- 
other parasite  attacks  the  eggs  of  the  gypsy  moth. 
Some  of  the  insect  allies  introduced  by  the  bureau 
make  a  business  of  destroying  the  larvae  of  the 
offending  moths,  making  their  own  nests  in  the 
cocoons  of  the  moth. 

The  bureau  also  conducts  an  unrelenting  cam- 
paign against  the  codling  moth,  the  orange  thrip, 
and  every  other  kind  of  insect  enemy  of  the  culti- 
vated crops  and  the  trees  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  campaign  against 
the  house  fly  and  the  mosquito. 

The  bureau  renders  services  to  other  countries 
in  return  for  their  favors  in  furnishing  parasites 
which  prey  upon  the  insect  pests  of  this  country. 


126     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNjMENT 

Lately  it  has  sent  ladybug  beetles  to  Spain  to  eat 
the  Spanish  mealy  bug,  dog-tick  parasites  to 
South  Africa  for  combating  the  dog  tick,  and 
bumblebees  to  the  Philippines  for  improving  the 
clover  crop. 

The  bureau  known  as  the  Biological  Survey 
employs  itself  in  investigations  concerning  the 
economic  relations  of  birds  and  mammals  to  the 
work  of  the  farmers  and  stockmen  of  the  country. 
The  rat  is  now  known  to  be  responsible  for  the 
dissemination  of  the  bubonic  plague,  and,  in  ad- 
dition, it  annually  destroys  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  products  in  the  granaries  and  store- 
houses of  the  United  States.  The  Survey  has 
shown  how  to  destroy  this  pest  effectively  and 
economically.  It  is  now  studying  the  native 
animals  which  harbor  the  ticks  by  which  the 
dreaded  spotted  fever  is  transmitted  to  human 
beings. 

The  survey  has  been  cooperating  with  the  For- 
est Service  in  the  destruction  of  chipmunks 
and  mice,  which  are  so  destructive  to  the  seeds 
planted  in  reforestation  work.  It  has  likewise 
assisted  in  the  California  crusade  against  the 
ground  squirrel.  A  preparation  of  barley  cov- 
ered with  starch  containing  strychnine  is  used  for 
destroying  the  squirrels.  More  than  50,000  acres 
were  baited  in  this  way  in  one  season  and  the 
squirrels  were  destroyed  at  a  cost  of  from  2I/2  to 
6  cents  an  acre.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
35  prairie  dogs  will  destroy  as  much  vegetation 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  127 

as  is  necessary  to  maintain  a  sheep  during  a  sea- 
son. The  Biological  Survey  is  trying  to  find  a 
method  of  poisoning  these  little  rodents  without 
endangering  the  lives  of  valuable  birds  like  shore 
larks  and  longspurs.  The  survey  has  charge  of 
the  enforcement  of  the  law  prohibiting  animal 
and  bird  pests  from  being  imported  into  the 
United  States.  Not  long  ago  a  mongoose,  one  of 
the  most  prolific  animals  known,  and  a  very  dan- 
gerous species,  was  surreptitiously  brought  into 
the  country  at  Everett,  Wash.  It  was  discovered 
and  killed  a  few  weeks  later.  About  the  same 
time  it  was  disclosed  that  the  eggs  of  the  tern 
were  brought  into  the  United  States  at  New  York 
and  sold  there  in  a  half-decomposed  state  under 
the  name  of  Australian  booby.  This  fraudulent 
traffic  was  promptly  suppressed.  Some  years  ago 
a  lot  of  starlings  were  liberated  by  private  par- 
ties in  Central  Park,  New  York.  They  now  range 
as  far  north  as  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  as  far 
south  as  central  New  Jersey.  The  starling  is  a 
pest  in  foreign  countries,  and,  fearing  a  duplica- 
tion of  the  history  of  the  English  sparrow,  the 
Biological  Survey  is  planning  to  prevent  further 
distribution  of  the  bird  if  it  proves  to  be  a  pest 
here.  The  survey  is  also  engaged  in  an  effort  to 
promote  international  cooperation  in  regulating 
traffic  in  plumage  birds. 

The  work  of  spreading  the  gospel  of  good  farm- 
ing has  reached  enormous  proportions.  During 
the  last  year,  more  than  25,000,000  copies  of  bulle- 


128     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

tins,  circulars,  and  reports  were  distributed  to  the 
farmers  of  the  country.  After  nearly  a  million 
copies  of  the  Farmer's  Bulletin  on  the  economical 
use  of  meat  in  the  homes  had  been  distributed 
gratis,  nearly  50,000  copies  were  sold.  The  Bu- 
reau of  Statistics  gathers  and  publishes  informa- 
tion with  reference  to  the  crops  of  the  country. 
It  has  a  corjDS  of  135,000  crop  reporters.  Their 
reports  are  summarized  monthly  by  a  board  of 
the  highest  officials  of  the  department,  and  the 
work  is  guarded  with  the  greatest  care  in  order 
to  prevent  the  information  from  getting  out 
ahead  of  time,  to  be  used  in  speculation. 

There  are  about  60  agricultural  experiment  sta^ 
tions  in  the  United  States  which  are  engaged  in 
cooperating  with  the  department  in  disseminat- 
ing agricultural  instruction.  They  issue  annually 
some  500  publications  which  are  sent  to  nearly  a 
million  addresses.  Each  of  these  stations  con- 
ducts some  particular  line  of  investigation,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  year  their  aggregate  work  has 
resulted  in  the  addition  of  a  vast  amount  of  val- 
uable information  to  the  literature  of  agricultural 
science. 

More  than  2,000,000  farmers  annually  attend 
the  farmer's  institutes  which  are  held  jointly  by 
the  State  and  National  Agricultural  Departments. 
Field  demonstrations  are  also  given,  and  the  Corn 
Clubs,  in  which  school  boys  are  awarded  pre- 
miums for  the  best  results  in  growing  corn,  have 
resulted  in  creating  an  unprecedented   interest 


DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTUEE  129 

among  the  youths  of  the  country  in  farming  oper- 
ations. 

The  department  also  maintains  a  Good  Roads 
Bureau  where  everything  pertaining  to  progres- 
sive road  construction  and  maintenance  is  studied 
and  experimented  with,  and  where  a  campaign  of 
education  is  waged  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  serve 
in  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  free  the  American 
people  from  an  annual  mud  tax  estimated  at 
$200,000,000. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE    WEATHER    BUEEAU. 

No  other  country  has  such  an  extensive  system 
of  weather  investigation  and  forecast  as  the 
United  States.  Spending  more  than  a  million  and 
a  half  dollars  a  year  to  be  weatherwise,  Uncle 
Sam  is  learning  many  secrets  of  the  atmosphere 
that  have  never  been  known  before.  The  Mount 
Weather  station  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  situated 
in  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  of  Virginia,  has  been 
equipped  with  every  sort  of  instrument  human  in- 
genuity can  devise  to  pull  down  the  secrets  of  the 
upper  air. 

The  Weather  Bureau  gets  reports  from  more 
than  3,500  land  stations,  2,000  ocean  vessels,  and 
some  50  foreign  stations.  The  information  which 
comes  to  the  Weather  Bureau  from  all  these 
places  enables  the  forecaster  to  venture  a  predic- 
tion about  what  the  weather  will  be  for  the  next 
36  to  48  hours,  and  in  a  general  way  for  a  week  in 
advance. 

It  is  said  that  more  than  80  per  cent  of  the 
winds,  rains,  and  storms  follow  beaten  paths,  be- 
having upon  established  principles,  and  doing  just 
as  the  weather  man  expects  them  to  do.  Some- 
ISO 


THE  WEATHEE  BUEEAU  131 

times,  however,  a  storm  will  refuse  to  follow  tlie 
beaten  paths  and  it  is  then  that  the  weather  man 
fails.  The  average  man  remembers  the  one  fail- 
ure rather  than  the  five  good  forecasts  in  which 
the  weather  man  correctly  predicts  the  weather. 
The  weather  forecasts  are  based  upon  simultane- 
ous observations  of  local  weather  conditions  taken 
daily  at  8  o  'clock  in  the  morning  and  at  8  o  'clock 
in  the  evening,  Eastern  time,  at  about  200  regular 
observing  stations  throughout  the  United  States 
and  the  West  Indies,  and  from  the  reports  re- 
ceived daily  from  various  other  places  in  the 
"Western  Hemisphere.  The  results  of  these  ob- 
servations are  telegraphed  to  the  Weather  Bureau 
at  Washington,  where  they  are  charted  for  study 
and  interpretation  by  experts. 

A  complete  telegraphic  report  includes  data  de- 
scribing the  temperature,  atmospheric  pressure, 
precipitation,  direction  of  the  wind,  state  of  the 
weather,  wind  velocity,  the  kind  and  amount  of 
clouds,  and  the  direction  of  their  movement. 
From  these  data  the  forecaster,  by  comparison 
with  preceding  reports,  is  able  to  trace  the  path 
of  the  storm  area  from  the  storm's  first  appear- 
ance to  the  moment  of  observation,  and  approxi- 
mately to  determine  and  forecast  their  subsequent 
courses  and  the  occurrence  of  other  weather  con- 
ditions. Forecast  centers  are  also  established  at 
Chicago,  New  Orleans,  Denver,  San  Francisco, 
and  Portland,  Ore. 

Within  two  hours  after  the  morning  observa- 


132     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

tions  have  been  taken  the  forecasts  are  tele« 
graphed  from  the  forecast  stations  to  more  than 
2,300  principal  distributing  points,  where  they  are 
further  disseminated  by  mail,  telegraph,  and  tele- 
phone. The  forecasts  are  mailed  to  135,000  ad- 
dresses a  day  and  delivered  to  nearly  4,000,000 
telephone  subscribers  within  an  hour  from  the 
time  the  prediction  is  made. 

In  addition  to  this  service  there  is  what  is 
known  as  the  climatological  service,  which  col- 
lects data  with  reference  to  temperature  and  rain- 
fall and  crops  season  conditions.  During  the  win- 
ter months  a  publication  known  as  the  Snow  and 
Ice  Bulletin  is  issued,  showing  the  area  covered 
by  snow,  the  depth  of  the  snow,  the  thickness 
of  ice  in  rivers,  and  other  matters  reported  upon 
from  every  section  of  the  country.  This  publica- 
tion is  of  especial  interest  to  those  interested  in 
the  winter  wheat  crop,  to  ice  dealers,  to  the  man- 
ufacturers of  rubber  goods  and  other  articles,  the 
sale  of  which  is  largely  affected  by  the  presence 
or  absence  of  snow  and  ice. 

The  extent  to  which  the  work  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  affects  the  daily  life  of  the  people  is  very 
great,  and  is  said  to  be  increasing  yearly.  Per- 
haps the  most  directly  valuable  service  rendered 
is  that  of  the  warnings  of  storms  and  hurricanes 
issued  for  the  benefit  of  marine  interests.  These 
warnings  are  displayed  at  nearly  300  points  along 
the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Gulf  coasts,  and  the 
shores  of  the  Great  Lakes,  including  every  port 


OBSERVATION  TOWER  AT  WEATHER  BUREAU, 


THE  WEATHEE  BUREAU  133 

and  harbor  of  any  considerable  importance. 
Scarcely  a  storm  of  marked  danger  to  maritime 
interests  has  occurred  for  years  of  which  ample 
warnings  have  not  been  issued  from  12  to  24  hours 
in  advance. 

The  warnings  displayed  for  a  single  hurricane 
are  known  to  have  detained  in  port  on  the  At- 
lantic coast  vessels  valued  with  their  cargoes  at 
more  than  $30,000,000.  The  w^arnings  of  sudden 
and  destructive  changes  in  temperature  are  issued 
from  24  to  36  hours  in  advance,  and  are  dissemi- 
nated throughout  the  threatened  regions  by 
V,  eather  Bureau  flags  and  otherwise.  The  warn- 
ings issued  for  a  single  cold  wave  are  said  to 
have  saved  over  $3,000,000  of  property  from  in- 
jury and  destruction.  The  warnings  of  frost  and 
freezing  weather  are  of  great  interest  to  the  grow- 
ers of  fruit,  tobacco,  cranberries,  and  market-gar- 
den products.  The  value  of  the  orange  blooms, 
vegetables,  and  strawberries  protected  and  saved 
on  a  single  night  in  a  small  district  in  Florida 
was  estimated  at  more  than  $100,000. 

The  publication  of  river  and  flood  forecasts 
based  upon  reports  issued  by  the  500  river  and 
rainfall  stations  upon  one  occasion  resulted  in  the 
saving  of  live  stock  and  other  property  to  the 
estimated  value  of  $15,000,000,  when  the  approach 
of  a  flood  in  the  Mississippi  was  forecasted  by  the 
Bureau  a  week  in  advance.  Railroad  companies 
make  continued  use  of  weather  forecasts  in  all 
their    shipping    business.      Perishable    products 


134     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

are  protected  against  extremes  of  temperature  by 
icing  or  heating.  Oftentimes  shipments  of  per- 
ishable goods  are  hustled  forward  when  it  is 
found  possible  to  get  them  to  their  destination  in 
advance  of  expected  unfavorable  temperature  con- 
ditions. When  this  can  not  be  done,  goods  in 
transit  are  run  into  roundhouses  for  protection. 
Bananas  require  very  careful  handling  and  must 
be  kept  at  a  temperature  ranging  from  58°  to  65°, 
and  the  banana  shipper  keeps  close  watch  on  the 
weather  map.  The  meatman  tries  to  ship  his 
products  in  cold  weather,  while  the  movement  of 
live  stock  by  freight  is  avoided  when  a  hot  wave 
is  forecasted. 

Temperature  forecasts  and  cold-wave  warnings 
are  closely  watched  by  brewers,  winemakers,  and 
manufacturers  of  soft  drinks.  Wine  shipments 
are  usually  withheld  until  danger  from  cold  is 
passed,  as  a  slight  frosting  causes  the  tartaric 
acid  in  wine  to  crystallize  and  precipitate.  Many 
brewers  hold  beer  shipments  when  the  distance 
is  more  than  60  miles  and  a  minimum  of  20°  is 
expected.  With  notice  of  an  approaching  cold 
wave,  greenhouses  are  closed  and  boilers  fired. 
Large  stockyards  drain  their  mains.  Gasoline 
engines  are  drained.  Work  in  concrete  is  stopped. 
Brewing  companies  and  ice  factories  take  care  of 
exposed  ammonia  condensers.  Railway  com- 
panies ariange  for  more  heat  in  fruit  cars.  Nat- 
ural gas  companies  turn  a  large  amount  of  gas 
into  their  pipe  lines.     Merchants  curtail  their  ad- 


THE  WEATHER  BUEEAU  135 

vertisements.  Coal  dealers  supply  partial  orders 
to  all  customers  instead  of  full  orders  to  a  few. 
Ice  factories  reduce  their  output.  The  dredging 
of  sand  and  gravel  ceases,  and  iron  ore  piled  up 
for  shipment  is  placed  in  the  holds  of  vessels  to 
prevent  the  wet  masses  from  freezing  solid. 
Charity  organizations  prepare  to  meet  demands 
for  increased  food  and  fuel,  and  thus  minimize 
suffering  among  the  poor. 

Rain  forecasts  protect  the  raisin  crop,  enable 
the  fruit  grower  to  pick  his  fruit  in  advance  of 
rain,  the  vegetable  grower  to  dig  his  vegetables  in 
dry  weather,  the  grower  of  alfalfa  to  bale  his  crop 
in  the  field,  the  maker  of  lime,  cement,  brick, 
draintile,  and  sewer-pipe  material  to  protect  it 
from  rain  during  the  process  of  manufacturing, 
photographic  firms  to  make  special  arrangements 
for  large  orders;  indeed,  one  might  continue  al- 
most interminably  to  cite  the  practical  uses  of  the 
work  of  the  Weather  Bureau. 

The  meteorological  institutions  of  the  world  have 
entered  into  a  sort  of  an  agreement  to  record 
upon  every  favorable  day  the  radiation  of  the  sun 
and  the  related  problem  of  the  polarization  of 
sky  light.  These  observations  are  exchanged  by 
the  different  institutions,  and  once  they  have  been 
taken  for  a  long  term  of  years  and  are  compared 
with  the  weather  records  of  those  years,  it  is 
hoped  that  weather  forecasting  at  long  range  will 
become  a  scientific  reality.  In  this  work  the 
Weather  Bureau  uses  an  instrument  known  as  the 


136     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

pyrheliometer.  Used  in  connection  with  an  elec- 
trical resistance  thermometer  it  is  so  sensitive  to 
heat  that  it  can  register  a  difference  in  tempera- 
ture a  million  times  more  minute  than  can  be  rec- 
ognized by  the  average  person.  The  pyrheliom- 
eter is  made  of  two  blackened  disks  fitted  on  a 
rod,  like  pulleys  on  a  shaft.  These  disks  are  im- 
mersed in  water,  the  sun's  rays  are  concentrated 
on  them,  and  the  amount  of  radiation  is  deter- 
mined by  the  varying  temperature  of  the  water  at 
different  exposures. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  the  work 
of  the  Weather  Bureau  is  that  part  which  is  being 
carried  on  at  the  Mount  Weather  Observatory. 
This  institution  is  making  all  sorts  of  investiga- 
tions into  the  whys  and  wherefores  of  the  weather, 
and  utilizes  all  kinds  of  ingenious  and  delicate  in- 
struments in  making  these  studies.  One  of  these 
instruments  consists  of  a  woman's  hair  and  a  pen 
which  writes  with  unfreezable  ink.  The  oil  is  ex- 
tracted from  the  hair,  and  in  this  way  it  becomes 
extremely  sensitive  to  all  variations  of  moisture 
in  the  air.  Great  care  is  taken  to  prevent  the  ac- 
cumulation of  foreign  matter  on  the  hair,  and  it  is 
washed  once  a  week  with  clean  water  applied  with 
a  camel 's-hair  brush.  The  expansion  and  con- 
traction of  the  hair  moves  the  tiny  pen  and  auto- 
matically makes  a  written  record  of  the  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere.  One  of  the  houses  of  the 
weather  station  is  built  without  windows.  An- 
other had  to  be  constructed  without  iron  or  steel. 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU  137 

not  even  excepting  nails.  Even  the  work  horses 
about  the  place  can  not  wear  iron  shoes  when  the 
magnetic  laboratory  observations  are  being  made. 
The  rooms  in  this  laboratory  must  be  maintained 
at  a  temperature  of  such  constancy  that  it  does 
not  vary  more  than  one-tenth  of  a  degree  the 
whole  year  round. 

The  observers  at  Mount  Weather  fly  kites  and 
release  captive  balloons  in  a  way  that  would  make 
the  heart  of  any  small  boy  turn  green  with  envy. 
These  kites  are  sent  up  into  the  air  every  favor- 
able day.  Each  of  them  contains  a  full  set  of  in- 
struments for  registering  the  heat,  the  direction 
and  velocity  of  the  wind,  and  other  weather  con- 
ditions in  the  upper  air.  The  average  height  to 
which  the  kites  and  captive  balloons  attain  is 
about  2  miles,  although  some  of  them  go  much 
higher.  On  days  when  kites  and  captive  balloons 
can  not  be  sent  up  other  balloons  are  liberated, 
either  singly  or  in  tandem.  They  carry  a  set  of 
automatic  instruments  which  record  the  weather 
conditions  in  the  atmosphere  through  which  they 
pass.  Some  of  them  travel  hundreds  of  miles 
before  they  are  found  and  returned.  Nearly  all 
of  these  are  eventually  sent  back  by  the  people 
who  discover  them. 

The  investigations  at  Mount  Weather  have  re- 
vealed conditions  differing  widely  from  those  sup- 
posed to  exist  before  these  researches  were  be- 
gun. The  accepted  rule  that  the  temperature  de- 
creases  as   altitude  increases   is  found  to  have 


138     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

many  exceptions,  a  great  layer  of  warm  air  fre- 
quently floating  upon  a  layer  of  cold  air,  while 
the  thickness  and  horizontal  extent  of  the  warm 
air  layers  vary  greatly.  Again,  temperature  in- 
versions have  been  recorded  by  instruments  at 
the  time  the  kite  or  balloon  was  sent  up,  whereas 
no  trace  of  these  johenomena  remains  when  the 
kite  is  brought  down  again  a  few  hours  later. 
Likewise  it  has  been  found  that  a  given  mass  of 
air  changes  with  its  onward  movement  past  the 
line  of  ascent,  and  the  wind  direction  varies  with 
different  levels.  Sometimes,  when  the  wind  at 
the  ground  is  from  the  south,  the  direction  a  half- 
mile  up  may  be  from  the  southwest  and  a  mile 
up  it  may  be  blowing  directly  from  the  west. 

Cloud  movements  indicate  that  in  this  hemi- 
sphere the  wind  direction  changes  to  the  right 
with  increasing  altitude,  but  kite  and  balloon  ob- 
servations show  that  it  may  at  times  change 
toward  the  left.  Observations  seem  to  show 
that  temperature  changes  at  the  ground  and  at 
altitudes  of  1  and  2  miles  occur  simultaneously, 
thus  contradicting  the  hitherto  accepted  theory 
that  the  changes  high  up  precede  those  at  the  sur- 
face. Hot  waves  are  seldom  felt  more  than  half 
a  mile  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  they 
do  not  advance  abruptly  with  a  solid  front  like 
a  wall,  but  start  at  the  ground  and  pile  up  layer 
upon  layer. 

The  application  of  the  Mount  Weather  data  to 
practical  forecasting  has  proven  of  great  assist- 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU  139 

ance.  This  data  serves  to  reverse  some  theories 
formerly  held.  Sometimes  a  storm  passes  east- 
ward without  being  followed  by  expected  clear- 
ing weather,  because  a  second  storm  was  develop- 
ing off  the  middle  or  South  Atlantic  coast.  This 
new  development  is  not  indicated  by  observations 
at  the  surface,  but  the  Mount  Weather  flights 
show  north  winds  at  high  altitudes  in  advance  of 
such  a  formation.  Again,  when  an  atmospheric 
depression  is  approaching  from  the  southwest, 
and  the  kite  records  show  winds  turning  to  the 
right  as  they  go  up,  the  usual  warming  up  is 
retarded  in  the  Atlantic  States  about  24  hours. 
Likewise,  the  turning  of  the  winds  to  the  left  as 
the  kite  ascends  into  the  upper  air  shows  the  depth 
of  the  cold,  northwest  winds,  from  which  infer- 
ences may  be  drawn  as  to  the  probable  fall  in 
temperature  at  the  surface  of  the  earth  within  the 
ensuing  24  hours. 

The  instruments  used  by  the  Weather  Bureau 
to  make  a  continuous  record  of  weather  conditions 
are  extremely  ingenious  and  interesting.  One  of 
these  is  an  automatic  pen  which  records  on  paper 
the  state  of  the  weather  as  to  cloudiness  and  sun- 
shine. It  consists  of  a  straight  glass  tube  with  a 
bulb  at  each  end.  These  bulbs  are  filled  with  dry 
air,  the  chambers  being  separated  by  a  small 
quantity  of  mercury  and  alcohol.  Platinum  wires 
are  inserted  in  the  middle  of  the  tube.  The  lower 
bulb  is  blackened  with  lampblack,  and  is  always 
turned    toward    the    south.      It    is    so    mounted 


140     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

that  whenever  the  sun  shines  it  will  start  the  re- 
cording pen  to  writing  and  as  soon  as  the  sun 
ceases  to  shine,  the  pen  ceases  writing.  A  chart 
is  placed  upon  a  revolving  roller  operated  by 
clockwork,  and  by  this  means  the  Weather  Bu- 
reau is  securing  year  in  and  year  out  a  record 
of  the  amount  of  sunshine  at  the  point  of 
observation. 

Another  instrument  records  the  velocity  and 
direction  of  the  wind,  while  others  make  a  record 
of  temperature  conditions,  barometric  pressure, 
rainfall,  etc.  The  rain  gauge,  which  records  auto- 
matically the  amount  of  rain  falling,  consists  of  a 
receiver  and  a  little  bucket  with  two  compart- 
ments in  it,  mounted  on  trunnions  in  such  a  way 
that  one  of  these  compartments  is  always  under 
the  receiver.  When  a  compartment  becomes  full 
it  tips  over  and  empties  its  contents  into  a  tank, 
and  in  the  act  of  doing  so  brings  the  other  com- 
partments into  position  to  be  filled.  When  the 
bucket  tips  it  closes  an  electric  circuit,  and  the 
automatic  recording  pen  attached  writes  down  the 
number  of  bucketful s  thus  discharged. 

To  the  United  States  belongs  much  credit  for 
the  development  of  the  science  of  meteorology. 
Joseph  Henry,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
who  had  aided  in  the  perfection  of  the  telegraph, 
by  the  use  of  that  instrument  began  to  draw 
weather  maps,  and  as  early  as  1856  he  displayed 
them  each  day  at  the  Smithsonian.  In  1870  the 
United  States  began  to  issue  daily  weather  maps. 


THE  WEATHER  BUREAU  141 

Many  weather  superstitions  have  been  proved 
to  have  no  foundation  whatever  in  fact.  One  of 
these  was  the  theory  that  our  forefathers  were 
healthier  than  we  because  of  their  ''old-fash- 
ioned" winters  and  summers.  An  examination 
of  systematic  temperature  and  rainfall  records 
shows  that  there  has  not  been  an  appreciable 
change  in  a  century.  Some  winters  are  colder 
than  others,  and  some  summers  hotter,  but  they 
average  up  about  the  same  as  in  the  "good  old 
days. '  * 

The  maps  and  bulletins  of  the  Weather  Bureau 
are  utilized  in  many  ways  by  the  public.  Grain 
and  cotton  brokers  are  guided  largely  by  the  fore- 
casts in  their  operations.  Data  of  atmospheric 
pressure  are  used  in  tests  of  boilers,  radiators, 
and  automobiles,  and  in  studies  of  the  amount  of 
fuel  required  to  drive  engines  under  varying  at- 
mospheric pressures.  Statistics  of  wind  force 
and  direction  assist  in  the  installation  of  water- 
supply  systems  to  be  operated  by  windmills,  in 
determining  the  origin  of  fires  resulting  from  fly- 
ing sparks,  the  pressure  to  which  large  buildings 
will  be  subjected  under  stress  of  heavy  storms, 
and  the  surface  movement  of  lake  waters  in  con- 
nection with  the  disposal  of  city  sewage.  The 
humidity  records  are  used  by  silk  and  candy  man- 
ufacturers, in  tuberculosis  investiga^^ions,  and  in 
studies  of  the  loss  of  electric  current  m  high  volt- 
age transmission.  River  data  are  utilized  by  fil- 
tration plants  in  guiding  their  methods  of  chem- 


142     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

ically  purifying  the  water  used  for  drinking  pur- 
poses, as  the  conditions  of  the  raw  water  supjjly 
as  regards  bacteria  content  and  turbidity  are 
greatly  affected  by  the  height  of  the  river  and 
the  amount  of  rainfall.  Maps  are  used  by  busi- 
ness men  generally,  by  aero  clubs  in  studies  for 
flights,  and  by  school-teachers  in  class  instruction. 
The  miscellaneous  climatological  data  are  used 
in  medical  and  scientific  studies  of  the  relation  of 
weather  to  diseases  and  other  conditions  of  health, 
life,  or  human  pursuits ;  by  railroad  companies  in 
the  adjustment  of  claims  and  demurrage  charges ; 
by  homeseekers;  by  invalids  in  search  of  health 
resorts ;  by  irrigation  investigators ;  by  contract- 
ors and  builders  in  settling  labor  accounts ;  by  gas 
and  electric  light  companies  in  showing  their  cus- 
tomers the  relation  of  their  monthly  bills  to  the 
varying  hours  of  daylight  at  different  seasons  of 
the  year ;  as  adequate  testimony  in  court  proceed- 
ings ;  in  dry-farming  investigations ;  in  studies  of 
soil  culture,  practical  agriculture,  and  the  life  and 
migration  of  insect  pests ;  in  plans  for  the  devel- 
oi^ment  of  the  arid  regions ;  in  preparation  of  his- 
torical records;  by  bond  and  investment  com- 
panies in  determining  the  loan  values  of  farm 
lands  in  newly  opened  countries. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE  DEPAKTMENT  OF  COMMERCE  AND  LABOE. 

The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  cov- 
ers a  wide  range  of  governmental  activities.  The 
scrutiny  of  corporations,  the  regulation  of  immi- 
gration and  naturalization,  the  gathering  of  cen- 
sus statistics,  theregulation  of  standards  of  meas- 
ure, the  propagation  and  distribution  of  fishes, 
the  maintenance  of  lighthouses,  the  supervision 
of  navigable  waters,  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur- 
vey work,  and  the  Steamboat-Inspection  Service 
are  among  the  affairs  with  which  the  department 
deals.  Among  the  most  interesting  phases  of  its 
activities  are  the  census  and  the  maintenance  of 
standards  of  measure,  which  are  treated  in  sepa- 
rate chapters. 

The  Bureau  of  Immigration  and  Naturalization 
has  charge  of  the  work  of  receiving  aliens  into  the 
United  States  and  of  the  enforcement  of  the  laws 
by  which  they  may  become  American  citizens.  One 
person  out  of  every  three  in  the  United  States  is 
an  immigrant  or  the  child  of  an  immigrant.  Fre- 
quently more  than  5,000  immigrants  arrive  in  one 
day  at  the  port  of  New  York,  and  on  some  oc- 

143 


144     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

casions  the  average  is  5,000  a  day  for  a  full  month. 
This  gives  the  inspectors  only  two  minutes  to  each 
immigrant,  and  a  question  must  be  asked  and  an- 
swered nea,rly  every  second.  Only  one  immigrant 
out  of  a  thousand  is  excluded,  although  the  re- 
strictions are  being  multiplied  each  year.  The 
head  tax  of  $4  collected  from  each  immigrant 
more  than  supports  the  Immigration  and  Natural- 
ization Service  of  the  country. 

Immigrants  coming  to  the  United  States  should 
possess  enough  money  to  take  care  of  themselves 
for  a  sufficient  time  to  permit  them  to  secure  em- 
ployment. During  a  recent  year  the  incoming 
tide  of  humanity  exhibited  to  the  officials  of  the 
Immigration  Service  more  than  $28,000,000,  an 
average  of  more  than  $27  per  person.  Fully  86  per 
cent  of  these  had  less  than  $50  when  they  came  in. 
The  bulk  of  the  immigration  into  the  United 
States  to-day  comes  from  southern  Europe. 

It  has  been  proposed  in  Congress  that  all  male 
aliens  between  the  ages  of  16  and  50  shall  be  re- 
quired to  stand  a  physical  test  equal  to  that 
undergone  by  recruits  for  the  Army  and  Navy, 
this  test,  of  course,  to  be  applied  to  manual  la- 
borers only.  Approximately  four  out  of  five  of 
the  immigrants  who  come  into  the  United  States 
come  through  the  port  of  New  York.  Of  the 
1,041,570  immigrants  arriving  in  1910,  786,004 
came  through  that  port. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  which  the  immi- 
gration authorities  have  to  face  is  that  of  distrib- 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  145 

nting  this  flood  of  humanity  over  the  entire  coun- 
try rather  than  allowing  it  to  concentrate  around 
the  port  of  entry.  There  is  a  provision  in  the  im- 
migration law  which  provides  that  contract  labor- 
ers shall  not  be  brought  into  the  United  States.  A 
striking  illustration  of  the  ease  with  which  con- 
scienceless persons  or  corporations  can  violate 
the  spirit  of  this  law  without  putting  themselves 
within  reach  of  its  letter,  is  the  case  of  a  large 
concern  which  arranged  with  a  philanthropic  (?) 
society  to  keep  it  supplied  with  common  manual 
laborers,  offering  them  fair  wages.  The  wages 
would  usually  be  paid  for  the  first  week,  and  then 
the  aliens  were  placed  on  "piece-work,  "at  a  wage, 
and  under  conditions,  barely  affording  an  exist- 
ence. This  would  result  in  their  leaving  the  con- 
cern as  soon  as,  by  starving  economy  or  otherwise, 
they  could  raise  a  sufficient  sum  to  take  them  to 
some  other  place.  Then  their  places  would  be 
filled  with  other  unskilled  and  ignorant  men 
piloted  by  the  society.  Thus  the  concern  main- 
tained a  constant  supply  of  cheap  foreign  labor, 
the  supposedly  philanthropic  organization  earned 
a  rich  financial  reward,  and  the  aliens  were  out- 
rageously exploited. 

The  heavy  immigration  from  southern  Europe 
is  accredited  mainly  to  the  promotion  methods  of 
steamship  agencies  and  professional  money  lend- 
ers. They  make  large  profits  out  of  the  immi- 
grant business,  and  even  if  they  have  to  carry 
some  of  the  immigrants  back,  it  still  leaves  enough 


146     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

profit  to  make  the  business  very  much  worth  while. 

The  hardest  problem  which  the  Immigratioa 
Service  has  to  solve  is  that  of  enforcing  the  Chi- 
nese immigration  laws.  Sometimes  the  Chinese 
slip  into  the  United  States  from  Canada  or  Mex- 
ico in  sealed  freight  cars,  or  even  in  the  refriger- 
ators of  dining  cars.  At  other  times  they  come 
hidden  in  coal-bunkers,  chain-lockers,  forespeaks, 
and  other  secluded  parts  of  ocean-going  vessels. 
It  is  stated  that  many  of  the  Chinese  in  the 
United  States  to-day  have  reached  here  in  viola- 
tion of  the  Chinese  immigration  law. 

A  typical  case  of  evasion  of  the  law  was  that 
of  a  Chinaman  who  recently  arrived  at  San  Fran- 
cisco accompanied  by  an  alleged  son.  So  well  were 
they  coached  that  on  examining  them  the  officers 
became  satisfied  that  their  claims  were  bona  fide 
and  instructions  were  given  for  their  landing.  If 
the  Chinaman  had  been  satisfied  to  perpetrate 
only  two  frauds  and  lay  the  basis  for  later  sim- 
ilar operations,  success  would  have  attended  him. 
But  he  overreached  himself.  As  he  started 
ashore  one  of  the  watchmen  noticed  something 
about  him  that  excited  the  suspicion  that  he  was 
carrying  coaching  letters,  and  a  search  of  his 
person  revealed  the  fact  that  he  had  consented 
to  be  the  message  bearer  for  a  number  of  the  de- 
tained Chinese,  who,  their  cases  being  fraudulent, 
wished  to  get  letters  ashore  to  the  smugglers  in- 
terested in  them,  showing  how  they  had  testified 
in  order  that  corroborating   witnesses    could   be 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  147 

produced.  A  reexamination  of  this  Chinaman 
showed  that  he  and  his  son  were  not  even  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family,  and  that  their  cases  were 
manufactured  out  of  whole  cloth. 

"When  an  immigrant  lands  in  the  United  States, 
if  he  be  a  steerage  passenger,  he  must  undergo  a 
minute  examination.  Physicians,  expert  on  dis- 
eases prohibited  from  entry,  are  stationed  a  dis- 
tance of  25  feet  apart,  and  the  immigrants  are 
marched  past  in  single  file.  As  they  walk  across 
the  25-foot  space,  each  one  25  feet  behind  his  pred- 
ecessor, he  is  eyed  minutely  from  head  to  foot 
by  the  physician,  and  if  there  is  any  reason  what- 
ever for  suspecting  the  presence  of  any  disease 
prohibited  by  the  immigration  laws,  the  suspected 
alien  is  sent  back  for  further  observation  and  in- 
vestigation. An  alien  must  reside  in  the  United 
States  for  a  period  of  five  years  before  he  is  en- 
titled to  become  a  full-fledged  citizen. 

A  branch  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  which  has  figured  prominently  in  the  pub- 
lic eye  is  the  Bureau  of  Corporations.  It  is  this 
bureau  that  investigated  the  Beef  Trust  and  as- 
serted that  the  packer's  profits  on  dressed  beef 
amounted  to  about  $1  per  steer.  It  has  also  in- 
vestigated the  Standard  Oil  Co.,  the  Cotton  Ex- 
changes, the  tobacco  industry,  and  the  lumber  in- 
dustry. It  declares  that  its  Standard  Oil  inves- 
tigations caused  the  railroads  concerned  in  carry- 
ing oil  to  cancel  every  rate  declared  illegal  by  the 
investigators  and  to  remove  most  of  the  other 


148     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

causes  of  complaint  as  to  inequitable  trafiSc  reg- 
ulations. It  is  asserted  that  when  the  exposure 
of  the  American  Tobacco  Company's  methods  was 
made  it  promptly  abandoned  the  use  of  secret 
subsidiary  concerns  which  had  posed  as  inde- 
pendent, but  which  in  reality  were  trust  concerns 
engaged  in  breaking  down  competition.  Still  later 
this  bureau  made  a  report  on  the  billion-dollar 
Steel  Trust. 

The  Bureau  of  Labor  devotes  its  activities  to 
the  work  of  gathering  information  about  the  con- 
dition of  the  laboring  classes  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  all  matters  which  aifect  them.  Some  of 
its  recent  publications  include  bulletins  on  the  in- 
crease in  the  cost  of  food  and  other  products,  civil- 
service  retirement  in  Great  Britain  and  New  Zea- 
land, railroad-pension  systems  in  the  United 
States,  strike  conditions  at  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
Works,  a  compilation  of  laws  relating  to  com- 
pensation for  industrial  accidents  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, condition  of  woman  and  child  wage-earners 
in  the  United  States,  and  phosphorus  poisoning 
in  the  match  industry.  This  bureau  is  simply  a 
gatherer  of  information  and  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  enforcement  of  laws  relating  to  labor 
conditions.  However,  it  does  adjudicate  claims 
for  compensation  growing  out  of  injuries  received 
by  Government  employees. 

The  Bureau  of  Manufactures  is  engaged  in  mak- 
ing available  for  the  manufacturing  establish- 
ments of  the  country  the  information  gathered 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  149 

■with  reference  to  trade  opportunities  in  foreign 
lands  by  the  Consular  Service  of  the  State  De- 
partment. In  four  years  there  were  published 
over  5,000  separate  items,  each  representing  an 
opportunity  for  the  sale  of  a  certain  machine  or 
commodity  by  an  American  manufacturer.  Busi- 
ness men  directly  interested  are  furnished  letters 
in  business  detail  to  create  new  or  to  extend  old 
lines  of  trade.  The  bureau  is  engaged  in  an  ef- 
fort to  educate  the  American  exporter  in  the  art 
of  properly  packing  goods.  In  addition  to  these 
things  it  has  prepared  an  International  Commer- 
cial Directory  containing  accurate  and  reliable 
information  as  to  buyers  in  foreign  countries. 
This  Directory  is  published  for  distribution  at  a 
price  which  will  relieve  the  Government  of  any 
expense  in  connection  with  its  publication. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  deals  largely  with  the 
gathering  and  publication  of  data  concerning  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States.  In  addition  to 
this  it  issues  one  of  the  most  useful  publications 
published  by  the  Federal  Government.  This  is 
known  as  the  Statistical  Abstract,  which  contains 
annual  statistics  about  every  line  of  activity  in 
which  the  Government  is  interested.  If  one 
wishes  to  know  how  many  telegrams  are  sent  in 
the  United  States  in  a  year,  the  Statistical  Ab- 
stract brings  that  information  down  to  date.  If 
he  desires  to  ascertain  how  much  wine  and  liquor 
are  consumed  during  each  fiscal  year,  the  Sta- 
tistical Abstract  answers  the  question.     If  he  de- 


150     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

sires  to  ascertain  how  many  tons  of  freight  were 
carried  in  the  United  States,  he  consults  the  Sta- 
tistical Abstract.  It  tells  him  how  many  boys 
and  girls  go  to  school  in  the  United  States,  how 
faithful  they  are  in  their  attendance,  and  what  it 
costs  to  educate  them.  It  informs  him  how  many 
farms  there  are  in  the  United  States  and  how 
much  the  average  farm  is  worth.  It  tells  him 
how  many  women  there  are  who  are  breadwin- 
ners, how  much  taxes  the  average  man  pays,  how 
many  fires  there  are  in  each  State  in  the  Union  in 
a  year,  and  practically  everything  else  anyone 
•wishes  to  know  of  a  statistical  nature  concerning 
the  Government  and  its  activities. 

The  Bureau  of  Fisheries  is  one  of  the  busiest  in 
the  department.  It  distributes  over  3,000,000,000 
eggs  and  fish  every  year.  Of  these  over  2,500,- 
000,000  are  tiny  little  fish  known  as  fry.  Of  the 
fish  and  eggs  distributed,  the  flatfish  ranks  first 
with  nearly  a  billion,  the  pike  perch  second  with 
half  a  billion,  the  white  perch  third,  and  the  yellow 
perch  fourth,  each  with  over  300,000,000.  The 
shad  and  the  cod  are  distributed  to  the  extent  of 
a  quarter  of  a  billion  each.  The  importance  of 
fish  as  a  food  product  is  not  appreciated  by  the 
average  American  citizen.  The  waters  of  the 
United  States  annually  contribute  more  than 
$60,000,000  worth  of  food  products  to  the  Amer- 
ican people. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  the  work 
of  the  bureau  is  its  efforts  to  acclimatize  fish  from 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  151 

the  Pacific  in  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic.  For 
nearly  40  years  it  has  tried  to  establish  the  Chi- 
nook salmon  in  Atlantic  coast  waters,  but  it  is 
only  recently  that  success  has  marked  its  efforts. 
Specimens  of  this  fish  have  lately  been  found  in 
Lake  Sunapee,  N.  H.,  weighing  from  3  to  5 
pounds.  Encouraged  by  this  outcome,  the  bureau 
has  recently  planted  40,000  fingerling  chinook  sal- 
mon in  Lake  Champlain.  Around  the  salmon 
there  is  a  cloud  of  impenetrable  mystery.  It  is 
hatched  in  fresh  water,  goes  out  to  sea,  and  re- 
turns to  its  birthplace  to  die.  Beyond  this,  little 
is  known  of  its  habits.  How  far  it  goes  out  to 
sea,  what  it  lives  upon,  and  how  it  finds  its  way 
back  to  its  birthplace  are  questions  that  no  man 
can  answer.  Great  schools  of  them  have  been 
sighted  in  the  ocean  hundreds  of  miles  from  land, 
but  when  seen  they  were  always  headed  for  the 
shore  and  fresh  water.  They  travel  in  such  num- 
bers that  often  the  smaller  streams  are  literally 
choked  with  them.  They  follow  closely  along  the 
shore  in  search  of  suitable  spawning  grounds. 
In  an  effort  to  establish  the  age  of  the  salmon 
little  tin  tags  have  been  fastened  to  the  tails  of 
minnows  turned  loose,  in  the  hope  that  they  would 
show  up  later.  This  experiment  has  been  tried 
in  the  case  of  cod,  off  the  coast  of  Massachusetts, 
and  some  of  the  tagged  fish  have  been  caught 
several  hundred  miles  away  from  the  place  where 
they  were  liberated. 
The  propagation  of  the  oyster  and  the  study  of 


152     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNIVIENT 

its  diseases  and  its  other  natural  enemies  engage 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  work  of  the  Bureau 
of  Fisheries.  The  oyster  lends  itself  admirably  to 
efforts  for  its  conservation.  As  an  egg  producer 
it  beats  the  American  hen  as  badly  as  an  express 
train  beats  the  slowest  snail  that  crawls.  Some 
of  the  best  layers  produce  as  many  as  50,000,000 
eggs  a  season,  while  an  average  of  16,000,000  eggs 
is  maintained.  Under  natural  conditions  only 
one  egg  in  ten  million  is  likely  to  develop  into  a 
mature  oyster.  Under  methods  of  artificial  prop- 
agation this  ratio  may  be  lowered  perhaps  a  hun- 
dredfold. There  are  many  enemies  which  prey 
upon  the  oyster.  The  drumfish  delights  to  find 
a  planted  bed,  for  there  oysters  are  smoother  and 
their  shells  are  more  easily  crushed.  The  star- 
fish travels  in  great  schools  at  a  speed  of  about 
500  feet  a  day.  It  begins  its  work  of  destruction 
when  it  is  no  larger  than  a  pinhead,  and  keeps  it 
up  all  through  life.  It  attaches  itself  to  the  oyster, 
and  by  persistence  finally  succeeds  in  worrying  it 
out  and  forcing  its  stomach  into  the  oyster 's  shell, 
through  which  it  absorbs  the  life  juices  of  the 
oyster.  The  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  devised  a 
dredge  consisting  of  about  a  dozen  mops  arranged 
like  the  teeth  of  an  old-fashioned  harrow.  This 
is  dragged  across  the  oyster  bed  and  when  it  is 
filled  with  starfish  they  are  brought  to  the  surface 
and  scalded  to  death. 

The  oyster  has  all  the  organs  common  to  animal 
life,  nearly  all  of  them  centered  in  its  gills.     In 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  153 

these  gills  are  the  pumps  which  maintain  a  proper 
circulation  of  the  water  supply,  the  food  col- 
lectors, which  strain  the  oyster's  bread  and  meat 
from  the  water,  the  hands  that  carry  the  food  to 
the  mouth,  and  the  nursing  chamber  where  the 
eggs  are  brought  to  that  maturity  which  enables 
the  baby  oysters  to  go  out  into  the  ocean  and 
seek  homes  for  themselves.  After  a  very  short 
period  of  free  existence  spent  mainly  in  looking 
around  for  a  desirable  place  to  build  a  permanent 
residence,  it  settles  down  and  lives  there  the  rest 
of  its  natural  life.  The  food  of  the  oyster  is  tiny 
diatoms,  little  specks  of  plant  life  which  live  in 
the  water.  The  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  estab- 
lished a  system  of  feeding  the  oyster  by  provid- 
ing a  liberal  supply  of  diatoms.  It  inclosed  a 
shallow  lagoon  at  the  south  end  of  Chesapeake 
Bay  and  dumped  several  tons  of  ordinary  com- 
mercial fertilizer  into  the  marshes  along  the  shore 
of  the  lagoon.  As  this  was  washed  into  the  water 
it  produced  a  tremendous  crop  of  diatoms,  and  the 
oysters  grew  fat  upon  them.  In  order  to  widely 
distribute  the  diatoms  a  screw  propeller  was  at- 
tached to  a  windmill  and  in  this  way  a  continuous 
current  through  the  lagoon  was  established. 

The  bureau  is  also  engaged  in  studying  the 
pearl  mussel  supply  of  the  rivers  of  the  United 
States  and  in  trying  to  discover  a  method  for 
their  artificial  propagation.  Sponge  culture  by 
artificial  methods,  the  study  of  fish  diseases  such 
as  thyroid  tumor  or  cancer,  the  control  of  the  seal 


154     THE   AMEBIC  AN   GOVERNMENT 

fisheries  of  Alaska,  and  the  investigation  of  the 
diamond-backed  terrapin,  the  stone  crab,  the  qua- 
hog  or  hard  clam,  and  seaweed,  are  among  the 
other  activities  of  the  bureau. 

The  Lighthouse  Board  has  charge  of  the  main- 
tenance and  construction  of  lighthouses  and  other 
aids  to  navigation  along  the  coasts  and  in  the 
rivers  of  the  United  States.  It  maintains  all  sorts 
of  aids  to  navigation  from  the  painted  buoy  up  to 
the  big  lightship  tenders,  and  the  lighthouse  keep- 
ers have  some  of  the  most  thrilling  experiences 
of  any  people  in  the  Government  service.  Some 
of  the  buoys  maintained  are  provided  with  w^his- 
tling  apparatus,  others  with  fixed  lights,  and  others 
with  alternating  lights.  The  use  of  acetylene  gas 
in  the  light  buoys  is  becoming  more  extensive,  and 
a  most  unique  method  of  automatically  lighting 
them  is  resorted  to.  A  mineral  substance  known 
as  selenium  possesses  the  property  of  being  a  non- 
conductor of  electricity  when  the  light  does  not 
shine  upon  it,  and  a  conductor  when  it  does.  By 
the  use  of  this  the  buoy  is  automatically  lighted 
as  soon  as  the  sun  goes  down,  and  the  light  is 
extinguished  as  soon  as  sunlight  appears  the  next 
morning. 

The  Bureau  of  Navigation  has  charge  of  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  requiring  all  ocean-pas- 
senger steamers  carrying  50  passengers  or  more 
on  routes  of  200  miles  or  more  to  be  equipped  with 
efficient  wireless  apparatus  and  operators.  It 
also  has  charge  of  the  enforcement  of  the  law  for 


COMMERCE  AND  LABOR  155 

the  regulation  of  motor  boats.  It  maintains  ship- 
ping commissioners  at  17  seaports. 

The  Steamboat-Inspection  Service  inspects  all 
of  the  steamboats  of  the  United  States  and  those 
clearing  from  American  ports.  Owing  to  the  ef- 
ficiency of  this  work  less  than  400  lives  were  lost 
out  of  the  300,000,000  passengers  carried  in  one 
year.  This  bureau  has  officers  stationed  wher- 
ever excursion  steamers  handle  passengers  to  in- 
sure that  no  steamer  is  overloaded.  The  bureau 
tests  the  boilers,  the  hulls,  and  all  life-saving  ap- 
paratus aboard  every  steamship  carrying  Ameri- 
can passengers,  and  no  vessel  can  engage  in  such 
business  unless  it  receives  a  clean  bill  of  health 
from  the  Steamboat-Inspection  Service. 

Another  interesting  activity  of  the  Department 
of  Commerce  and  Labor  is  the  work  of  the  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey.  This  bureau  is  charged 
with  the  making  of  surveys  of  the  coast  of  the 
United  States  and  coasts  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  this  country.  This  includes  the  measuring  of 
bases,  triangulation,  topography,  and  other  mat- 
ters along  these  coasts.  It  also  makes  surveys 
of  rivers  to  the  head  of  ship  navigation,  and 
studies  the  depth,  temperature,  and  current  move- 
ments in  the  waters  along  the  coast  and  through- 
out the  Gulf  and  Japan  streams.  It  is  engaged 
in  a  study  of  the  magnetic  properties  of  the  earth, 
and  the  variations  of  terrestial  magnetism.  It 
also  determines  the  precise  levels  in  the  United 
States  and  geographic  positions  by  astronomic 


156     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

observations  and  triangulation  in  order  to  fumisH 
the  reference  points  from  which  all  State  sur- 
veys begin.  The  granite  post  with  its  metal 
bench  mark,  showing  the  exact  geographical  po- 
sition and  height  above  the  sea  is  a  familiar  sight 
in  many  parts  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

THE  CENSUS  BUEEATJ. 

The  Censns  Bureau  is  perhaps  the  world's 
greatest  gatherer  of  statistical  information.  Once 
every  10  years  it  puts  an  army  of  75,000  people 
into  the  field  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  the  data 
which  will  afford  a  great  national  snapshot  of  the 
United  States  as  it  is,  and  furnish  a  basis  for 
ascertaining  what  progress  the  country  has  made 
during  the  decade.  After  these  decennial  in- 
quiries are  made,  the  bureau  disbands  its  army 
of  75,000  enumerators.  It  takes  a  force  of  3,000 
two  years  to  digest  the  statistical  information 
gathered.  The  permanent  bureau  maintains  a 
force  of  800  for  the  gathering  and  publishing  of 
statistical  data  between  census  periods. 

When  the  Census  Bureau  begins  the  work  of 
taking  the  decennial  census,  the  first  question 
which  confronts  it  is  that  of  making  out  the  sched- 
ules of  questions  which  are  to  be  asked  by  the 
census  enumerators.  It  is  by  no  means  a  simple 
matter  of  writing  down  every  question  that  hap- 
pens to  suggest  itself  to  the  schedule  maker. 
Upon  the  number  and  the  character  of  the  ques- 
tions contained  in  a   schedule  depend  the  ao- 

157 


158     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

curacy  and  value  of  the  returns.  There  are  two 
principles  which  must  govern  those  who  frame  a 
census  schedule.  Enough  questions  must  be  asked 
to  get  the  information  desired,  and  yet  the  fewer 
and  simpler  these  questions  are,  the  greater  will 
be  the  accuracy  of  the  data  they  bring  out.  So 
the  schedule  maker  tries  to  find  a  happy  medium 
between  the  large  number  of  questions  which 
would  call  forth  much  information,  and  the 
small  number  of  simple  questions  which  would 
secure  the  greatest  accuracy.  Many  different 
schedules  of  questions  are  submitted  to  different 
classes  of  people.  The  population  schedule,  of 
course,  goes  to  everybody.  This  schedule  for  the 
Thirteenth  Census  contained  33  questions.  The 
next  most  important  schedule  has  to  do  with  the 
farms.  It  contains  some  600  questions.  The 
schedule  of  the  manufacturing  industries  contains 
several  hundred  questions.  The  population  sched- 
ule is  always  the  most  important.  The  census  is 
primarily  a  matter  of  counting  noses  to  determine 
the  population  of  the  country  for  purposes  of  ap- 
portioning representation  in  Congress. 

All  the  other  inquiries  have  come  about  as  an 
incidental  matter,  a  sort  of  by-product,  as  it  were. 
Upon  the  count  of  population  may  depend  the  po- 
litical complexion  of  the  Nation.  The  population 
schedule  for  the  Thirteenth  Census  contained  a 
number  of  new  interrogatories.  One  of  these  was 
for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  what  proportion  of 
the  people  are  employees.    Another  new  question 


THE   CENSUS  BUREAU  159 

related  to  whether  the  person  was  a  Union  or 
Confederate  soldier  during  the  Civil  War.  This 
question  was  asked  with  reference  to  service  in 
the  Union  Army  at  the  Eleventh  Census,  the 
names  of  survivors  and  their  service  being  gath- 
ered. No  provision  was  made  for  the  publication 
of  this  data,  which  would  have  filled  eight  large 
quarto  volumes  of  a  thousand  pages  each.  The 
returns  were  deposited  in  the  Pension  Bureau  and 
never  have  been  printed. 

It  required  more  than  70,000  people  to  gather 
the  population  and  agricultural  statistics  of  the 
country  in  1910.  In  the  taking  of  the  census  a 
careful  tab  is  kept  on  every  enumerator's  work 
every  day  he  is  in  the  field.  He  is  supplied  with 
two  cards  for  each  day's  work.  At  night  he  fills 
them  out,  forwarding  one  to  the  supervisor  of  his 
district  and  the  other  to  the  Census  Bureau  in 
"Washington.  He  must  give  a  list  of  the  places  he 
has  visited,  the  number  of  people  he  has  enumer- 
ated, and,  in  short,  a  general  history  of  the  day's 
work.  The  supervisor  and  the  central  office  both 
check  his  cards,  and  if  there  is  the  slightest  reason 
to  suspect  that  he  has  not  been  doing  his  work 
properly  he  will  be  asked  to  explain.  His  final 
report  must  balance  exactly  with  the  sum  of  his 
daily  reports. 

The  cost  of  the  Thirteenth  Census  was  approxi- 
mately $14,000,000,  of  which  about  $7,000,000  went 
to  pay  for  the  enumeration  in  the  field.  The  cen- 
sus law  requires  that  every  person  shall  make 


160     THE  AMEEICAN   GOVERNT^IENT 

true  and  faithful  answer  to  the  enumerator  who 
calls  upon  him,  anJ  provides  a  fine  and  imprison- 
ment for  willful  failure  to  give  such  answers.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  equally  careful  to  insure  the 
people  that  their  confidence  shall  be  protected  if 
they  answer  well  and  truly.  The  enumerator  is 
required  to  hold  in  sacred  confidence  everything 
he  learns  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  a  jail 
sentence  stares  him  in  the  face  if  he  divulges  any 
of  the  information  he  obtains.  No  matter  if  he 
unearths  the  biggest  tax  dodger  in  the  country,  or 
the  most  notorious  criminal  in  the  land,  his  mouth 
must  be  forever  closed.  That  he  does  unearth  a 
vast  amount  of  tax  dodging  is  disclosed  by  the 
fact  that  during  a  recent  year  the  people  of  the 
country  informed  the  tax  assessor  that  they  were 
worth  $35,000,000,000.  When  the  enumerator 
came  around,  with  expanding  chest  and  swelling 
pride  they  informed  him  that  they  were  worth 
more  than  a  hundred  billion  dollars. 

One  of  the  things  which  the  Census  Bureau  has 
to  guard  against  is  frequent  attempts  at  padding 
the  lists.  In  one  census  a  negro  enumerator  in 
Mississippi  made  returns  for  all  the  farms  in  his 
district,  and  then  duplicated  these  returns  for 
every  member  of  the  family  on  each  farm.  This 
padding  was  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  his 
own  pay.  In  another  case  a  Maryland  enumer- 
ator visited  the  cemeteries  in  his  district  and  re- 
turned the  names  upon  the  tombstones.  Some- 
times ambitious  cities  engage  in  campaigns  of  cen- 


THE   CENSUS   BUREAU  161 

sus  padding.  In  a  recent  census  two  rival  cities 
undertook  to  pad  their  population  returns.  Each 
was  watching  the  other.  The  one  went  at  it  in  a 
crude  sort  of  way,  and  was  soon  detected.  The 
other  handled  the  situation  with  a  finer  hand  and 
might  have  succeeded  in  its  efforts  but  for  the 
watchfulness  of  the  rival  city. 

Bitter  disappointments  often  follow  the  an- 
nouncement of  census  returns.  Ambitious  cities 
hope  to  make  a  better  showing  than  their  rivals. 
For  instance,  as  Los  Angeles  and  Seattle  were 
both  ambitious  to  be  written  down  as  the  second 
city  of  the  Pacific  coast  by  the  Thirteenth  Census, 
a  great  campaign  of  city  booming  was  carried 
forward  by  each  of  them.     Los  Angeles  won  out. 

But  for  the  invention  of  machines  capable  of 
arranging  and  adding  figures  more  accurately 
than  can  be  done  by  the  human  hand  and  the  hu- 
man brain,  and  much  more  rapidly,  the  taking  of 
a  Federal  census  under  present  conditions  would 
be  utterly  impracticable.  It  would  require  so 
long  to  tabulate,  digest,  and  publish  the  returns 
that  it  would  be  time  for  another  census  to  be 
taken  before  the  one  in  hand  could  be  completed. 
Electricity  has  solved  the  problems  of  digesting 
the  returns  which  come  from  the  enumerators  in 
the  field.  Prior  to  the  Eleventh  Census  all  returns 
were  tabulated  by  hand ;  and  a  long,  tedious  task 
it  was.  In  1890  the  electrical  punching  and  tabu- 
lating machine  came  into  use,  having  been  in- 
vented  by   a    former    employee    of   the    census. 


162     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Speaking  of  this  machine  Director  Merriam  of 
the  Twelfth  Census  declared  that  it  ''has  proved 
a  boon  to  the  Census  Office.  It  needs  only  be  said 
that  if,  at  the  Twelfth  Census,  the  tallies  of  age 
and  sex,  nativity  and  occupation  had  been  made 
by  hand,  it  would  have  required  the  time  of  a 
hundred  clerks  nearly  twelve  years."  He  also 
estimated  that  the  electrical  machinery  does  the 
work  in  a  tenth  of  the  time,  at  a  third  of  the  cost, 
and  with  a  greater  degree  of  accuracy  than  could 
be  accomplished  by  hand,  and  that  it  saved  the 
Government  $5,000,000  in  the  work  of  the  Twelfth 
Census. 

This  machinery  is  remarkable  for  its  ingenuity. 
Symbols  are  prepared  which  represent  the  va- 
rious items  of  data  as  extracted  from  the  schedule. 
Editors  take  the  schedules  and  insert  the  symbols 
over  the  item  in  the  various  columns  and  form 
divisions.  A  separate  card  is  devoted  to  each 
person  in  the  United  States,  and  on  each  of  them 
is  set  dowTi  the  facts  relating  to  the  sex,  age,  race, 
birthplace,  etc.,  and  a  machine  is  used  to  punch 
holes  through  the  symbols  which  tell  the  story  of 
each  individual.  Each  machine  has  a  capacity  of 
about  1,800  cards  a  day,  and  there  are  300  ma- 
chines in  the  Census  Office. 

The  90,000,000  cards  which  represent  the  90,- 
000,000  people  in  the  United  States  would  make  a 
stack  10  miles  high.  A  careful  check  is  kept  upon 
the  accuracy  of  the  operators  of  the  punching  ma- 
chines, so  as  to  make  sure  that  they  are  not  hitting 


THE   CENSUS   BUREAU  163 

the  wrong  keys.  While  it  is  not  possible  to  com- 
pare all  of  these  90,000,000  cards  with  the  sched- 
ules from  which  they  are  punched,  a  certain  num- 
ber of  cards  are  selected  at  random  from  each 
operator's  work  and  compared  with  the  original. 
If  the  operator  is  inaccurate  she  must  mend  her 
ways  or  turn  the  machine  over  to  some  one  else. 

After  the  cards  are  punched  they  are  fed  into 
what  is  known  as  the  tabulating  machine.  This 
machine  is  so  arranged  that  as  the  card  passes 
through,  an  electrical  connection  is  established 
by  a  blunt  needle  passing  through  the  card  wher- 
ever there  is  a  hole  punched,  into  a  cup  of  mer- 
cury, and  the  fact  of  this  connection  is  automati- 
cally recorded.  The  machine  automatically  prints 
the  total  results  for  each  unit  of  area,  such  as  dis- 
tricts, townships,  wards,  cities,  or  States.  This 
machine  has  almost  human  intelligence.  When- 
ever a  card  fed  into  it  is  properly  punched  it  gives 
an  approving  ring  and  passes  the  card  through. 
If  the  card  does  not  have  the  proper  number  of 
holes  punched  in  it  the  tabulating  machine  stops 
and  refuses  to  budge  until  the  offending  card  is 
withdrawn. 

One  may  get  a  striking  lesson  of  the  costliness 
of  small  errors  from  a  statement  made  recently 
by  Director  Durand,  of  the  Census  Bureau.  In 
the  case  of  farm  statistics  the  enumerator  some- 
times makes  the  mistake  of  adding  or  leaving  off 
a  cipher  in  reporting  the  number  of  bushels  of 
grain  raised  on  a  given  farm.     To  follow  up  all 


164     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

these  errors  and  check  off  the  obvious  ones,  after 
the  method  of  the  Twelfth  Census,  would  cost,  he 
estimates,  several  hundred  thousand  dollars.  By 
the  use  of  the  typewriter-adding  machine,  such  er- 
rors  in  a  column  of  figures  were  so  patent  that 
the  trained  eye  detected  them  without  the  neces- 
sity of  editing  by  individual  schedules.  At  the 
last  census  the  statistics  of  agriculture  were  tabu- 
lated by  means  of  punched  cards  of  which  some 
200,000,000  were  used.  These  cards  would  have 
made  a  stack  over  25  miles  high.  The  typewriter- 
adding  machines  have  served  to  expedite  the  work 
of  tabulating  the  returns  of  the  7,000,000  farms 
from  which  statistics  were  gathered. 

The  work  of  publishing  the  returns  of  the  cen- 
sus is  a  very  large  one.  For  many  years  the  re- 
ports were  published  by  private  contract,  but  at 
present  the  Government  Printing  Office  does  the 
work.  The  reports  for  the  Thirteenth  Census  are 
much  more  compact  than  in  the  case  of  any  pre- 
ceding census.  Heretofore  the  decennial  census 
reports  have  taken  up  almost  as  much  room  in  a 
library  as  Dr.  Eliot's  famous  section  of  lineal 
literature.  Director  Durand  has  scaled  down  the 
size  of  his  reports  considerably.  He  had  an  ex- 
cellent example  to  guide  him.  The  Federal  Blue 
Book,  or  register  of  Government  employees,  for- 
merly was  published  in  two  volumes,  each  of  them 
larger  than  an  old-fashioned  family  Bible.  The 
latest  one  issued  by  the  Census  Bureau,  without 
omitting  a  single  essential  fact,  has  been  squeezed 


THE   CENSUS  BUREAU  165 

down  to  two  volumes  whose  aggregate  size  is  con- 
siderably less  than  that  of  the  smaller  of  the  two 
former  volumes. 

In  addition  to  the  statistics  of  population,  ag- 
riculture, and  manufactures,  the  decennial  census 
gathers  like  information  with  reference  to  mines 
and  quarries  in  the  United  States.  In  this  work 
it  has  an  agreement  with  the  Geological  Survey. 
There  is  also  provision  for  smaller  investigations 
to  be  made  in  decennial  years.  One  of  these  re- 
lates to  the  enumeration  of  inmates  of  institu- 
tions for  criminals,  paupers,  feeble-minded,  and 
juvenile  delinquents.  Another  consists  of  the 
enumeration  of  benevolent  institutions,  and  the 
third  is  a  special  inquiry  with  reference  to  the 
deaf  and  dumb  and  the  blind  of  the  United  States. 
Irrigation  statistics  are  also  gathered.  This  is 
being  done  by  a  special  field  force  in  cooperation 
with  the  division  of  irrigation  investigations  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

When  the  Census  Bureau  finishes  the  big  de- 
cennial inquiry  it  undertakes  other  lines  of  work 
during  the  years  intervening  between  census 
periods.  Each  year  it  gathers  statistics  of  the 
financial  and  municipal  activities  of  cities  having 
a  population  of  more  than  30,000.  It  also  gathers 
annual  statistics  concerning  the  ginning,  consump- 
tion, and  the  stock  of  cotton.  Its  other  annual 
work  includes  the  gathering  of  data  concerning 
births  and  deaths  in  the  registration  States  and 
information  concerning  forest  products.     Every 


166     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNIMENT 

five  years  the  bureau  makes  an  investigation  of  all 
manufacturing  industries.  The  Thirteenth  Cen- 
sus has  made  the  first  nation-wide  investigation 
as  to  the  prevalence  of  race  suicide,  as  indicated 
by  the  number  of  children  born  and  the  number 
living  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  women 
of  different  classes,  their  age,  and  the  duration 
of  married  life. 

The  history  of  census  taking  in  the  United 
States  is  an  interesting  one.  The  Federal  Gov- 
ernment has  conducted  these  inquiries  13  times 
since  the  foundation  of  the  Government,  and  in 
doing  so  has  spent  some  $75,000,000.  Starting 
out  in  1790  with  but  four  questions,  all  of  them 
upon  the  single  subject  of  inquiry — population — 
the  work  expanded  in  a  hundred  years  to  such  a 
remarkable  extent  that  in  1890  there  were  31  dif- 
ferent subjects  of  inquiry,  carrying  over  13,000 
questions. 

The  most  remarkable  expansion  in  the  work 
took  place  at  the  Tenth  Census,  in  1880.  At  the 
preceding  census  there  had  been  but  12  subjects  of 
inquiry,  embracing  only  156  questions.  In  1880 
the  number  of  subjects  had  increased  to  26,  and 
the  number  of  questions  to  1,310.  These  inquiries 
were  so  top-heavy  that  in  1900  Congress  decided 
to  reduce  the  number  of  subjects  to  four — popu- 
lation, agriculture,  manufactures,  and  vital  sta- 
tistics. It  is  indeed  a  far  cry  from  the  17  mar- 
shals and  200  assistants,  with  their  quill  pens  and 
saddlebags,  who  gathered  and  prepared  the  re- 


THE   CENSUS   BUREAU  167 

turns  of  the  First  Census  in  1790  to  the  70,000 
census  takers  of  1910  with  their  electrical  tabulat- 
ing machinery. 

The  First  Census  cost  $44,000,  and  it  is  calcu- 
lated that  the  one  which  will  be  taken  in  1920  will 
cost  more  than  $20,000,000.  There  was  much  dis- 
appointment over  the  showing  of  the  First  Cen- 
sus. Many  thought  it  made  the  population  too 
small,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  supposed  to  be 
for  purposes  of  taxation.  Thomas  Jefferson  un- 
hesitatingly expressed  his  belief  that  it  was  er- 
roneous, and  as  Secretary  of  State  notified  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States  abroad  that 
the  returns  were  far  short  of  the  truth.  He  was 
careful  to  supply  many  omissions  in  red  ink.  Sub- 
sequent events  indicate  that  the  First  Census 
was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  very  accurate  one, 
and  that  the  trouble  lay  in  the  overestimates  of 
colonial  populations  which  had  been  made  pre- 
viously. One  of  the  most  interesting  publications 
ever  issued  by  the  Government  is  that  containing 
a  list  of  the  heads  of  families  as  disclosed  by  the 
census  of  1790.  This  work  was  undertaken  only 
a  few  years  ago,  and  is  a  publication  of  surpass- 
ing interest  to  the  genealogists  of  the  United 
States. 

Once  the  Census  Bureau  completes  its  count  of 
the  population  of  the  country  it  announces  the  re- 
sults to  Congress.  That  body  takes  the  figures 
and  from  them  determines  the  number  of  Rep- 
resentatives who  shall  constitute  the  House  of 


168     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Representatives  in  Congress  during  the  ensuing 
decade.  It  has  the  constitutional  right  either  to 
increase  the  number  of  Representatives,  or  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  people  to  be  represented  by 
the  average  Member.  The  aim  usually  is  to  strike 
such  an  apportionment  so  that  no  State  loses  a 
Representative  by  the  procedure.  Under  the  ap- 
portionment of  the  Thirteenth  Census  the  House 
consists  of  435  Members,  one  Member  to  each 
211,877  of  population.  The  Senate  usually  allows 
the  House  to  determine  the  matters  involved  and 
then  agrees  to  the  House  apportionment  measure. 
After  Congress  has  passed  the  apportionment 
bill,  providing  the  number  of  Representatives 
from  each  State,  it  devolves  upon  the  legislatures 
of  the  States  to  divide  them  into  districts  and  to 
provide  for  the  election  of  the  requisite  number 
of  Representatives.  Usually  party  politics  con- 
trols this  work.  The  party  in  power  in  a  legis- 
lature nearly  always  tries  so  to  lay  off  the  con- 
gressional districts  that  in  the  election  the  oppos- 
ing party  shall  be  at  a  great  disadvantage.  It 
tries  to  crowd  all  of  the  counties  with  big  majori- 
ties to  the  opposite  party  into  a  few  districts,  leav- 
ing all  the  other  districts  in  a  position  to  return 
Representatives  of  their  own  political  persuasion. 
Sometimes  it  so  lays  off  a  congressional  district 
as  to  make  it  resemble  a  shoe  string  more  than 
anything  else.  Elbridge  Gerry  first  practiced 
this  art  as  a  political  leader,  and  it  has  been 
known  as  "gerrymandering'*  ever  since.      Con- 


THE   CENSUS   BUEEAU  169 

gress  itself  often  plays  politics  when  a  reappor- 
tionment measure  comes  np  for  consideration.  If 
a  political  wave  has  swept  the  party  then  in  power 
in  the  House  out  of  power  in  the  legislatures,  it 
holds  up  the  apportionment  bill  in  the  hope  that 
its  fortunes  may  again  be  in  the  ascendant  in  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  where  the  gerrymander 
is  the  deciding  factor  as  to  which  party  shall  have 
control  of  the  State  delegation  in  Congress. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  BUREAU  OF   STANDARDS. 

At  the  National  Bureau  of  Standards  one  may 
have  ocular  demonstration  that  truth  is  stranger 
than  fiction.  In  one  room  of  this  remarkable  in- 
stitution is  a  giant  testing  machine,  powerful 
enough  to  pull  asunder  a  great  steel  shaft.  In 
another  room  the  visitor  may  behold  by  optical 
means  the  bending  of  tool-steel  shafting,  31/2 
inches  in  diameter,  beneath  the  weight  of  a  visit- 
ing card.  Across  the  hall  is  a  weighing  machine 
with  balance  so  sensitive  as  to  register  the  de- 
crease in  weight  of  a  piece  of  metal  when  moved 
2  inches  farther  from  the  earth.  In  another 
room  are  to  be  found  length  measures  so  delicate 
that  their  scale  can  be  read  only  by  the  aid  of  a 
microscope  magnifying  50  diameters,  and  which, 
when  being  used,  are  packed  in  ice  so  that  the 
variations  of  heat  may  not  affect  their  accuracy. 
In  still  another  room  the  visitor  may  study  the 
ultra-violet  rays  of  light,  such  as  the  unaided 
human  eye  has  never  seen.  At  another  place  he 
may  see  men  testing  thermometers  which  register 
a  temperature  below  the  freezing  point  of  pure 
hydrogen ;  and  others  which  will  accurately  meas- 

170 


THE  BUREAU  OF   STANDARDS     171 

Tire  heat  up  to  approximately  7,000°,  a  heat  so 
intense  that  no  earthly  substance  can  survive  it. 

The  layman  can  hardly  appreciate  how  close 
home  to  him  comes  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of 
Standards.  His  groceries  are  bought  by  standard 
measures,  the  imported  sugar  in  his  coffee  at 
breakfast  has  been  tested  by  the  bureau  for  the 
Customs  Service.  The  electric  light  by  which  he 
reads  at  night  conforms  to  the  standards  of  this 
bureau.  The  clinical  thermometer  by  which  the 
doctor  ascertains  his  temperature  when  he  is  sick, 
and  the  apothecary  scales  by  which  his  medicines 
have  been  measured,  owe  their  accuracy  to  the 
work  of  this  bureau. 

The  Bureau  of  Standards  is  the  home  of  preci- 
sion, but  not  of  undue  precision,  for  the  bureau 
aims  to  assign  to  each  case  the  order  of  accuracy 
it  deserves.  A  clinical  thermometer,  correct  to 
a  tenth  of  a  degree,  is  tested  in  a  few  minutes.  If, 
however,  a  standard  of  length,  yard  or  meter,  is 
for  some  great  manufacturing  plant  where  meas- 
uring instruments  are  made,  weeks  are  spent  in 
testing  a  single  standard,  while  fundamental  na- 
tional standards  take  years  to  establish.  The 
modern  metric  standards  of  length  and  mass  took 
15  years  to  prepare,  verify,  and  distribute  to  the 
Governments  of  the  world. 

The  unique  facilities  for  scientific  work  at  the 
bureau  attract  visitors  from  every  land.  A  liquid- 
air  plant  affords  freezing  temperatures  almost  to 
absolute  zero;  electric  furnaces  give  heat  enough 


172     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

to  melt  rock;  machines  are  at  hand  to  freeze  the 
moisture  from  the  air  and  provide  a  new  dry  cli- 
mate wherever  required;  through  large  tunnels 
run  a  multitude  of  pipes  and  wires,  carrying  not 
merely  hot,  cold,  and  iced  water,  but  steam,  vacu- 
um, and  compressed  air  to  the  various  labora- 
tories. Every  room  needing  special  time  service 
can  be  wired  to  beat  second  intervals  from  that 
marvel  of  precision — the  Riefler  clock,  which  runs 
correct  to  within  a  half  second  a  month.  There 
are  ice-making  machines,  gas-making  machines, 
ventilating  systems,  and  remarkable  switchboards 
where  all  kinds  and  strengths  of  electric  current 
may  be  sent  to  any  room  as  easily  as  a  telephone 
connection  is  made.  In  the  glass-working  shop, 
wonderful  tubes  are  made  for  vacuum  lamps, 
elaborate  apparatus  of  glass  for  regulating  tem- 
perature of  tanks  of  oil  to  the  hundredth  part  of 
1°,  and  many  other  intricate  works  of  skill.  Then 
there  is  the  glassworker,  who  grinds  true  lenses 
and  flat  surfaces  to  marvelous  accuracy  for  opti- 
cal research. 

Respect  for  the  infinitesimal  is  a  cardinal  vir- 
tue in  the  bureau's  work;  no  factor  is  too  small  to 
be  ignored,  no  labor  too  exacting,  no  expense  too 
great,  when  national  standards  are  involved.  Sci- 
entific discovery  now  rests  upon  that  refined  scru- 
tiny of  things  which  marks  precision  measure- 
ment. With  more  exact  measurement  of  the 
moon's  distance,  Newton  might  have  announced 
his   discoveries   many  years   earlier.      Accurate 


THE  BUREAU  OF   STANDARDS     173 

weighings  of  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  showed  a 
slight  excess  weight  due,  as  Ramsay  found,  to 
five  new  gases  which  we  inhale  with  every  breath, 
but  which  were  till  then  unknown.  So  with  the 
precise  manipulation  of  testing  and  measuring, 
radium  was  discovered.  Nearly  every  important 
scientific  discovery  of  modern  times  has  been  in 
whole  or  in  part  the  result  of  measuring  instru- 
ments of  remarkable  refinement. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  sights  to  be  seen 
in  this  institution  is  its  new  giant  testing  machine, 
which  has  a  compressive  power  of  2,300,000 
pounds,  and  a  pulling  power  of  1,150,000  pounds. 
This  latter  power  is  sufficient  to  pull  asunder  a 
great  steel  shaft  measuring  5  inches  in  diameter, 
or  to  break  a  huge  structural  column  more  than 
twice  as  large.  It  is  able  accurately  to  register 
this  great  strain.  Immediately  after  exerting  a 
pressure  of  more  than  2,000,000  pounds,  and  reg- 
istering this  degree  of  pressure  with  great  accu- 
racy, it  will  crush  an  eggshell  and  register  the 
pressure  required  in  that  operation  with  equal 
fidelity. 

This  great  machine  may  be  likened  roughly  to 
a  huge  hydraulic  jack  with  a  pair  of  registering 
scales  attached.  It  will  test  any  piece  of  mate- 
rial from  a  few  inches  in  length  to  30  feet.  Two 
huge  screws,  some  40  feet  long,  12  inches  in  diame- 
ter, and  with  threads  five-eighths  of  an  inch  deep, 
are  used  to  apply  the  power.  Oil  is  used  instead 
of  water,  in  great  cylinders,  to  furnish  the  power 


174     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

for  pressure  or  tension.  Only  a  small  part  of 
the  great  pressure  which  the  machine  exerts  falls 
upon  the  weighing  instrument.  Great  springs 
are  distributed  through  the  parts  of  the  machine 
to  bear  the  strain  and  absorb  any  shock  which 
might  result  from  the  breaking  of  the  material 
being  tested.  Although  this  great  testing  ma- 
chine is  vast  in  proportions  and  powerful  in  its 
strength,  a  still  more  powerful  machine  is  in- 
stalled in  the  Bureau  of  Standards'  testing  plant 
at  Pittsburgh.  This  machine  is  able  to  exert  a 
force  of  10,000,000  pounds,  which  is  more  than 
sufficient  to  break  the  shaft  of  the  biggest  war 
vessel  afloat. 

It  would  be  a  long  story  to  describe  the  variety 
of  materials  whose  properties  are  measured  by 
the  bureau  to  ascertain  their  quality.  They 
range  from  the  horseshoe  nail  of  the  army  mule 
to  the  steel  and  cement  for  the  great  Isthmian 
Canal ;  from  the  single  strand  of  silk  to  steel  rails ; 
bookmaking  materials,  paper,  type,  ink,  glue, 
cloth ;  structural  materials  for  building  skyscrap- 
ers, bridges,  and  houses,  including  also  paints,  var- 
nishes, protective  coatings;  office  supplies — such 
as  writing  papers,  sealing  wax,  mucilage,  ink, 
paste,  typewriter  ribbons,  including  even  red  tape. 
The  permanency  of  public  records  depends  upon 
the  ink  and  the  paper,  and  until  recently  both 
were  doubtful. 

In  the  material-testing  section  a  self-acting 
twine  tester  unwinds  the  balls,  measures  the  yard- 


THE  BUEEAU  OF   STANDARDS     175 

age,  and  rewinds  them  while  samples  are  tested 
for  breaking  strength.  Uncle  Sam's  twine  each 
year  costs  a  quarter-million  dollars,  and  must  be 
full  measure  of  strength  and  length.  The  cloth 
in  the  national  flags  and  that  used  in  bookbinding 
and  other  purposes  is  tested  as  to  as  many  quali- 
ties as  required,  sometimes  the  threads  to  the 
inch,  sometimes  as  to  the  wear,  sometimes  as  to 
strength,  but  always  to  select  the  best,  or  ascer- 
tain whether  goods  are  of  the  quality  specified. 
The  quality  of  paper  was  once  expert  guesswork. 
The  paper  was  felt  with  the  fingers  and  tongue, 
torn,  crumpled,  even  chewed,  and  the  expert  was 
then  supposedly  able  to  guess  the  quality.  Now 
every  element  is  measured  by  the  bureau — fiber, 
sizing,  mineral;  the  dye,  its  color  and  fastness 
are  studied;  while  the  bursting  strength,  weight 
and  thickness,  folding  durability,  are  measured 
on  automatic  machines  more  accurately  than  the 
paper  is  uniform.  So  thorough  is  this  work  that 
the  "recipe"  by  which  the  paper  was  made  can 
be  reproduced  from  the  tests. 

The  amazing  electrical  progress  of  the  past  half 
century  is  due  largely  to  the  wonderful  improve- 
ment in  methods  of  measuring  electricity  and  to 
the  single  world  system  of  units  of  electrical 
measure.  The  Bureau  of  Standards  has  had  ex- 
perts working  for  years  to  fix  the  world's  elec- 
trical units  and  standards.  Some  of  these  re- 
searches are  of  astonishing  precision,  and,  while 
they  can  be  appreciated  only  by  the  expert,  every- 


176     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

body  will  profit  by  the  general  electrical  advance 
made  possible  by  the  greater  exactness  of  the 
standards.  The  standard  cells  which  fix  the  value 
of  the  volt  as  a  laboratory  standard  are  kept  con- 
stantly in  oil  baths  regulated  to  a  constant  tem- 
perature, not  varying  by  so  much  as  the  hun- 
dredth of  a  degree.  The  standard  of  voltage 
is  now  the  mean  of  six  standard  cells  selected 
as  the  best  of  several  hundred.  The  standard 
ohm,  the  unit  of  resistance,  is  determined  by  the 
resistance  which  a  tube  of  mercury  of  minutely 
specified  dimensions  and  construction  offers  to 
a  current  of  electricity. 

The  bureau  is  investigating  how  electricity  cor- 
rodes iron  and  steel  in  underground  pipes  and 
structures.  The  danger  is  such  as  seriously  to 
imperil  city  water  and  gas  mains,  great  buildings, 
bridges,  etc.  The  problem  is  being  studied 
throughout  the  United  States  by  the  bureau's 
experts. 

In  one  of  the  buildings  is  a  unique  dynamo 
used  for  wireless  work,  which  gives  electric  cur- 
rent of  100,000  waves  a  second  for  use  on  the 
great  wireless  mast  just  outside  the  building, 
whose  top  reaches  almost  as  high  as  the  Wash- 
ington Monument.  This  is  connected  with  the 
laboratories  of  the  bureau,  where  experimental 
research  is  in  progress  under  the  Army  and  Navy 
wireless  experts. 

In  the  room  where  precise  weighing  is  done,  the 
temperature  is  under  strict  control,  for  if  it  rises 


THE  BUEEAU  OF   STANDARDS     177 

or  falls  by  even  half  a  degree  while  accurate  work 
is  being  done,  or  even  for  several  hours  before- 
hand, air  currents  would  move  the  scale  pans  and 
hinder  the  work.  Even  the  heat  from  the  body 
would  cause  trouble,  hence  in  precise  weighing, 
the  expert  is  10  feet  away  and  by  rods  with  in- 
genious mechanisms  changes  weights  from  pan  to 
pan  and  adds  V-shaped  weights  of  fine  wire  to 
either  side  to  effect  a  balance.  The  motions  of 
the  beam  are  read  by  a  telescope  using  a  mirror 
on  the  beam,  in  effect,  an  optical  pointer  20  or  30 
feet  long. 

One  balance  operates  in  a  vacuum  to  eliminate 
the  buoyant  force  of  the  air.  If  one  pan  of  the 
balances  were  higher  than  the  other,  the  weight 
would  appear  lighter,  because  it  is  farther  from 
the  center  of  the  earth.  If  a  2-pound  weight  is 
raised  2  inches,  these  balances  would  show  the 
difference  in  weight  due  to  the  increased  dis- 
tance from  the  earth. 

The  weights  are  kept  covered  in  glass  cases, 
and  the  least  dust  is  carefully  brushed  off  with  a 
soft  camel's-hair  brush.  Chamois-covered  lifters 
are  used  to  handle  the  larger  weights,  for  the 
finger-prints  of  even  the  cleanest  hands  would 
vitiate  them. 

The  smallest  weights  in  actual  use  are  one- 
twentieth  milligram  or  one-sixth-millionth  of  an 
ounce.  They  are  of  aluminum,  thinner  than  tis- 
sue paper,  and  would  have  much  room  to  spare 
if  set  on  a  pinhead.    The  balance  on  which  they 


178     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

are  used  weighs  easily  to  within  one-thirty-mil- 
lionth  of  an  ounce. 

The  fundamental  standards  on  which  all 
weights  depend  are  made  of  platinum-iridium  al- 
loy prepared  after  a  decade  of  investigation  and 
testing  by  an  international  commission  of  scien- 
tists. These  standards  are  kept  under  double 
glass  covers,  in  a  fireproof  vault,  and  are  rarely 
used,  and  then  only  to  check  up  the  best  working 
standards. 

In  some  of  the  rooms  of  the  weights  and  meas- 
ures section  are  to  be  seen  portable  outfits,  such 
as  city  sealers  would  carry,  charts  showing  how 
much  we  pay  per  pound  for  the  commodities,  such 
as  foods,  done  up  and  sold  by  the  package,  and 
other  evidence  of  the  investigations  that  have 
been  made  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union.  These 
investigations  have  done  much  to  show  the  need 
of  regulating  the  size  of  packages. 

The  unit  of  length  of  the  United  States  is  the 
meter,  the  standard  measure  of  which  was 
brought  from  Paris  in  1890.  The  original  stand- 
ard bar  has  been  reproduced  many  times  in  plati- 
num iridium.  This  new  standard  resembles,  in 
section,  the  capital  letter  "H,"  with  the  two  up- 
right lines  bending  out  at  both  the  top  and  bot- 
tom. The  lines  which  constitute  the  scale  on 
this  bar  are  so  finely  cut  that  they  are  almost  in- 
visible to  the  naked  eye.  Two  of  these  bars  are 
on  deposit  in  the  Bureau  of  Standards  and  one 
of  them  was  taken  back  to  Paris  several  years 


THE  BUREAU  OF   STANDARDS     179 

ago  and  compared  with  the  original.  It  was 
found  that  in  15  years  there  was  less  than  the 
fifty-thousandth  part  of  an  inch  difference  in  its 
length. 

When  a  measure  is  compared  with  this  proto- 
type meter  bar,  the  two  are  packed  side  by  side  in 
ice  in  a  trough-like  comparator  mounted  on  inde- 
pendent piers.  The  observers  measure  the  posi- 
tion of  the  minute  marks  with  remarkably  accu- 
rate micrometer  screws  and  strong  microscopes. 
Under  one  of  the  buildings  of  the  Bureau  of 
Standards  is  a  tunnel  in  which  standards  of  length 
are  compared.  There  is  a  series  of  piers,  inde- 
pendent of  the  floor,  with  which,  by  means  of  the 
meter  bar  and  a  5-meter  bar,  any  bar  or  tape  up 
to  50  meters  may  be  accurately  measured.  This 
comparator  is  used  for  the  standardization  of  the 
invar  tapes  which  are  used  by  the  Coast  and  Geo- 
detic Survey  and  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  in  their  work  of  accurate  base  measure- 
ments. On  the  opposite  side  of  the  tunnel  is  a 
long  steel  bench,  164  feet  long,  in  which  platinum- 
iridium  plugs  are  set  at  intervals.  On  each  plug 
a  cross  line  has  been  ruled  and  the  distance  be- 
tween the  lines  is  determined. 

A  whole  floor  of  one  of  the  largest  buildings  is 
fitted  up  for  precise  determinations  of  tempera- 
tures by  means  of  the  melting  points  of  various 
elements ;  for  the  standardization  of  clinical  ther- 
mometers, of  which  many  thousands  are  tested 
annually;  for  the  accurate  measurement  of  tem- 


180     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

perature  by  means  of  resistance  thermometers  in 
which  the  liquid  resists  freezing.  The  range  ex- 
tends down  far  below  the  temperature  of  liquid 
air  and  up  as  high  as  solar  temperature.  At 
higher  temperatures  optical  means  must  be  used, 
for  all  the  elements  melt  in  the  intense  heat.  The 
work  of'  this  division  underlies  all  metallurgy. 
The  instruments  used  to  measure  the  heat  value 
of  fuels  are  standardized  here.  This  is  of  grow- 
ing importance,  since  large  contracts  now  pay  for 
coal  on  the  basis  of  heating  value,  rather  than  by 
gross  weight.  Pyrometry,  another  branch  of  this 
work,  is  devoted  to  measuring  high  temperatures, 
and  devices  of  extraordinary  ingenuity  have  been 
invented  to  cover  heat  ranges  where  ordinary 
thermometers  fail. 

The  optical  experts  use  waves  of  light  as  units 
of  measure ;  they  analyze  colors,  study  transpar- 
ency of  many  materials  and  their  power  to  reflect 
the  various  colors  and  even  the  light  invisible  to 
the  unaided  eye.  With  the  ultramicroscope,  the 
motions  of  invisible  particles  of  silver  are  studied, 
particles  which,  though  too  small  to  be  seen 
directly,  vitiate  the  measurement  of  electric  cur- 
rent in  precision  work.  Radiation,  meaning  light 
and  heat  energy,  is  measured  by  a  marvelous  in- 
strument called  the  bolometer,  in  which  a  mil- 
lionth of  a  degree  of  temperature  is  easily  regis- 
tered. The  bureau  ascertains  the  quality  of  lenses 
by  testing  the  focus,  curvature,  and  other  proper- 
ties.      Most    scientific    facts    have    reached    us 


DR.  WILEY  AT  WORK. 


THE  BUREAU  OF   STANDARDS     181 

through  glass,  and  in  the  form  of  a  lens  it  is  the 
eye  of  science.  A  defect  in  curvature  would  mar 
every  view  taken  or  seen  through  it. 

The  sugar  laboratory  receives  samples  of  sugar 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  at  the  ports  of  entry. 
The  impurities  are  measured  by  the  twist  which 
a  solution  of  the  sugar  gives  to  light  waves  pass- 
ing through  it.  This  laboratory  also  supplies  per- 
fectly pure  sugar  for  $18  a  pound.  This  sugar  is 
used  to  test  the  instruments  with  which  the  heat- 
ing value  of  fuels  is  measured,  as  well  as  to  fix 
the  100  per  cent  point  in  sugar  testing. 

In  one  room  the  visitor's  watch  must  be  re- 
moved, for  here  is  the  strongest  magnet  in  the 
world,  which  will  draw  nails  held  loosely  in  the 
hand  from  a  distance  of  a  foot;  so  strong,  too, 
that  if  a  nail  is  placed  in  the  closed  fist  the  hand 
can  be  turned  only  with  great  effort.  This  mag- 
net is  used  to  study  the  strange  effects  of  mag- 
netism on  light  waves,  not  merely  twisting,  but 
actually  lengthening  or  shortening  the  light  waves 
themselves. 

In  minute  measures  of  length  a  remarkable 
optical  instrument  is  used,  in  which  light  waves 
are  the  units.  The  interferometer  measures  wave 
lengths  which  would  take  75,000  to  cover  an  inch. 
One  may  step  up  to  the  demonstration  interferom- 
eter and  measure  for  himself  with  wave  lengths 
of  light.  To  illustrate,  a  bar  of  steel,  3  feet  by  3^^ 
inches,  may  be  bent  by  a  visiting  card,  and  the 
infinitesimal  bending  perceived  by  this  remark- 


182     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

able  instrument.  The  bar  is  supported  at  its  ends, 
and  bears  upon  its  middle  a  small  mirror.  Above 
the  bar  is  a  yoke  upon  which  is  fixed  another 
interferometer  mirror  only  partly  silvered.  When 
the  shaft  is  bent  downward  ever  so  slightly,  he 
sees  reflected  a  series  of  concentric  bright  and 
dark  circles,  resembling  a  target,  and  as  the  shaft 
is  bent  the  circles  expand  outward  like  the  circles 
in  water  when  a  stone  is  dropped  in.  As  each  new 
circle  forms,  the  bar  has  been  bent  one  one-hun- 
dred-thousandth of  an  inch.  With  this  instru- 
ment, five  or  six  new  circles  may  be  seen  to  form 
at  a  touch,  so  that  the  total  flexure  would  be,  say, 
one  twenty-thousandth  of  an  inch.  The  interfe- 
rometer is  used  in  many  refined  researches,  par- 
ticularly in  fixing  standards  of  length  and  meas- 
uring light  waves. 

The  results  of  scientific  research  during  the 
past  quarter  of  a  century  have  been  far-reaching. 
But  the  scientists  to-day  declare  that  the  lessons 
of  these  25  years  have  demonstrated  that  more 
wonderful  results  lie  ahead  than  have  been 
achieved  in  the  past,  and  that  no  man  is  able  to 
predict  what  strides  toward  ideal  living  condi- 
tions and  racial  betterment  may  be  made  in  the 
half  century  immediately  ahead.  It  is  to  the  pio- 
neering work  of  such  institutions  as  the  Bureau 
of  Standards  that  these  results  will  be  due. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  PUBLIC   HEALTH. 

The  Federal  Government  deals  with  problems 
relating  to  the  public  health  through  five  separate 
bureaus  under  the  administration  of  five  of  the 
executive  departments.  Foremost  among  these 
bureaus,  by  reason  of  the  wide  range  of  its  work, 
is  the  Public  Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service, 
which  is  under  the  Treasury  Department. 
Through  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  which  pro- 
tects the  national  food  supply,  the  Bureau  of  Ani- 
mal Industry,  which  inspects  the  Nation's  meat 
products,  and  the  Bureau  of  Entomology,  which 
is  leading  the  country-wide  fight  for  the  abolition 
of  the  fly  and  the  mosquito,  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  has  a  large  share  in  health  conserva- 
tion in  the  United  States.  The  War  Depart- 
ment is  represented  by  the  Medical  Corps  of 
the  United  States  Army,  having  to  its  credit  the 
final  proof  that  the  mosquito  is  responsible  for 
yellow  fever,  and  the  additional  credit  of  demon- 
strating the  possibilities  of  modern  sanitation 
and  preventive  medicine.  The  Navy  Department 
is  represented  by  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  Navy. 

183 


184     THE   AlVIERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

After  these  have  all  done  their  work,  along  comes 
the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  and, 
through  the  Census  Office,  gathers  the  statistics 
which  show  the  effect  of  the  work  of  all  the 
other  departments  in  their  efforts  at  conquering 
disease,  reducing  mortality,  and  promoting 
longevity. 

That  the  health  of  the  people  is  a  problem  of 
prime  importance,  and  that  it  can  be  promoted, 
cutting  down  the  death  rate  and  lengthening  the 
span  of  life,  is  abundantly  attested  by  vital  sta- 
tistics in  every  civilized  country.  It  is  estimated 
that  more  than  a  million  preventable  deaths  oc- 
cur each  year  in  the  United  States  and  that  these 
inflict  an  economic  loss  upon  the  Nation  of  more 
than  a  billion  dollars.  Between  the  census  years 
of  1890  and  1900,  the  average  American  saw  his 
journey  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  lengthened 
from  31  years,  1  month,  and  6  days,  to  35  years, 
2  months,  and  12  days.  The  census  of  1910  prob- 
ably will  show  an  additional  four  years  added  to 
the  span  of  the  average  life. 

According  to  insurance  statistics,  the  mortality 
rate  among  the  industrial  classes  is  nearly  double 
that  among  the  well-to-do.  In  Austria  and  Spain, 
where  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health  is  wide- 
spread, the  death  rate  is  nearly  double  that  ob- 
taining in  the  United  States,  where  ideal  condi- 
tions are  still  far  from  being  realized,  and  in 
India  the  average  life  is  but  little  more  than  half 
as  long  as  the  average  life  in  America.    The  death 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  185 

rate  from  tuberculosis  has  fallen  off  one-half  since 
Koch  discovered  its  germ.  The  death  rate  from 
diphtheria  is  only  a  third  as  great  in  Chicago 
to-day  as  it  was  a  generation  ago.  Every  time 
the  world's  death  rate  is  cut  down  one  per  thou- 
sand, it  means  the  saving  of  a  million  and  a  half 
lives  a  year. 

From  these  statements  it  will  appear  that  the 
activity  of  the  Federal  Government  in  the  promo- 
tion of  the  national  health  is  one  of  its  most  im- 
portant concerns.  In  the  promotion  of  these  ends 
the  bureaus  concerned  with  the  public  health  find 
a  vast  deal  of  interesting  work  to  do.  The  Pub- 
lic Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service,  presided 
over  by  that  eminent  sanitarian,  Dr.  Walter  Wy- 
man,  has  a  wide  field  of  activities.  Its  work  in 
putting  down  yellow  fever  in  the  South  a  few 
years  ago,  its  labors  in  protecting  San  Francisco 
from  a  threatened  outbreak  of  pestilence  after  the 
great  earthquake,  its  services  in  stamping  out  bu- 
bonic plague  in  California,  its  epoch-making  in- 
vestigations of  the  hookworm  disease,  its  work  of 
artificially  growing  the  bacillus  of  leprosy,  its 
labor  toward  uniting  the  Western  World  in  inter- 
national sanitary  work,  and  its  successful  resis- 
tance of  the  threatened  cholera  epidemics  which 
stormed  the  shores  of  America  in  1892  and  1893, 
and  again  in  1910  and  1911,  are  a  few  instances 
where  it  has  come  prominently  into  the  public 
eye.  But  it  does  a  thousand  things  in  the  course 
of  a  year  which  enable  the  average  American  to 


186     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

feel  a  greater  security  against  the  dangers  of  dis- 
ease than  he  otherwise  could. 

All  through  every  day  and  night  of  every  year 
it  stands  guard  at  the  ports  of  the  country  to  see 
that  no  loathsome  or  dangerous  diseases  are  per- 
mitted to  come  into  the  country  through  those 
ports.  The  first  person  who  boards  an  incoming 
steamer  after  it  takes  up  its  pilot  is  the  quaran- 
tine officer,  who  is  a  representative  of  the  Public 
Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service.  He  exam- 
ines the  officers  of  the  ship  and  only  when  they  are 
able  to  show  a  clean  bill  of  health  will  he  allow 
the  ship  to  go  to  its  dock.  Every  one  of  the  aliens 
who  come  into  the  United  States  must  undergo 
an  examination  by  its  officials. 

The  service  also  has  charge  of  interstate  sani- 
tation and  the  suppression  of  epidemics,  cooper- 
ating with  the  States  by  lending  its  experts  to 
them  for  the  ascertainment  of  the  cause  of  epi- 
demics and  for  planning  campaigns  to  check  them. 
It  has  its  finger  upon  the  pulse  of  the  country,  col- 
lecting data  regarding  contagious  and  infectious 
diseases  with  the  view  to  advancing  our  knowl- 
edge regarding  their  prevention  and  suppression, 
which  is  a  fundamental  duty  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment in  its  relation  to  the  public  health. 

In  the  supervision  of  the  sale  of  viruses,  serums, 
toxins,  and  similar  products,  the  Public  Health 
Service  renders  great  assistance  to  the  sick  of  the 
country.  Without  some  central  agency  to  adopt 
certain  standards  for  these  materials,  and  to  see 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  187 

that  they  are  maintained,  people  might  be  in  dan- 
ger of  all  sorts  of  infection.  All  vaccine  virus, 
diphtheria  antitoxins,  and  the  like,  must  measure 
up  to  the  standards  of  strength  and  purity  set  by 
the  service  or  they  can  not  be  sold  in  interstate 
commerce.  The  Hygienic  Laboratory  has  pre- 
pared standard  units  for  antitetanic  and  antidiph- 
theric  serums,  and  sends  out  to  the  laboratories 
making  these  serums  a  standard  unit  for  compari- 
son. The  Belgian  Government  and  the  great 
Wellcome  Laboratories  of  England  are  using  the 
standards  set  by  this  Hygienic  Laboratory,  as  is 
also  the  Brazilian  Government. 

Another  interesting  activity  of  the  service  is 
the  standardization  of  all  heroic  remedies.  Digi- 
talis and  other  remedies  have  varied  much  in 
strength,  and  no  doubt  thousands  of  people  have 
lost  their  lives  by  overdoses  of  these  remedies 
administered  ignorantly,  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  uniformity  of  strength.  One  of  the  most  nota- 
ble contributions  that  has  yet  been  made  to  the 
literature  of  sanitation  was  made  by  the  Public 
Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service  in  the  course 
of  its  studies  on  milk  and  its  relation  to  epidemic 
diseases.  There  are  more  than  20,000,000  milch 
cows  in  the  United  States,  and  they  give  perhaps 
a  billion  gallons  of  milk  a  year.  If  milk  is  a  dis- 
ease carrier,  ignorance  of  the  fact  might  cost  un- 
told thousands  of  lives,  so  the  service  started  out 
to  find  just  how  far  milk  may  act  as  the  trans- 
portation system  of  the  germ  kingdom. 


188     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

When  its  investigators  set  to  work  to  trace 
down  epidemics  of  typlioid  fever,  they  found  that 
milk  is  one  of  the  greatest  known  disseminators 
of  the  disease.  In  Savannah,  Ga.,  only  19  cases  of 
typhoid  occurred  during  a  recent  year  from  Jan- 
uary to  May.  During  May  95  cases  were  re- 
ported. Sixty-three  of  these  cases  were  traced 
to  a  single  dairy,  and  a  majority  of  the  remainder 
of  the  cases  were  thought  to  have  been  infected 
from  these  other  cases.  The  infected  dairy  sold 
milk  at  wholesale,  as  well  as  retail,  among  its 
wholesale  patrons  being  a  bakery,  over  which  a 
typhoid  patient  lived.  The  dairy  had  been  in- 
fected by  the  use  of  the  milk  cans,  which  had  been 
returned  unsterilized  from  this  bakeshop. 

Another  great  benefit  following  research  work 
was  the  discovery  of  hookworm  infection,  which 
was  sapping  the  vitality  of  large  numbers  of  peo- 
ple in  an  important  section  of  the  country.  The 
knowledge  thus  acquired  is  now  being  applied  in 
an  extensive  campaign  against  the  disease.  Other 
investigations  of  equal  importance  relating  to  ty- 
phoid fever  have  been  conducted  during  the  past 
five  years,  and  will  ultimately  contribute  to  a 
reduction  of  this  disease  in  the  United  States. 

The  service  is  also  at  the  head  of  the  nation- 
wide campaign  against  rabies,  and  has  pointed 
out  how  the  dreaded  disease  may  be  completely 
wiped  out.  It  furnishes  the  virus  which  is  used 
for  the  administration  of  the  Pasteur  treatment 
to  State  boards  of  health,  and  administers  it  to 


I 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  189 

patients  who  have  been  bitten  by  animals  sus- 
pected of  having  hydrophobia.  In  the  Hygienic 
Laboratory  the  experimenters  make  use  of  many 
dogs,  cats,  guinea  pigs,  and  mice.  Many  a  human 
life  has  been  saved  by  the  experiments  thus  made. 
In  1853  two  water  companies  experimented  with 
a  half  million  people  in  London,  with  the  result 
that  there  were  3,476  deaths.  The  same  year  a 
Leipsic  scientist  experimented  with  56  mice,  and 
had  the  lessons  he  learned  by  those  experiments 
been  heeded,  the  cholera  epidemic  in  London 
would  have  been  averted.  Using  monkeys  for  the 
purpose,  similar  studies  have  been  made  in  the 
Hygienic  Laboratory  with  respect  to  measles. 
This  disease  has  been  transmitted  to  these 
animals,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  the  laboratory 
authorities  that  a  curative  serum  will  soon  be 
found  which  will  save  the  lives  of  large  numbers 
of  children. 

It  costs  less  than  a  million  dollars  a  year  to 
run  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  yet  this  bureau  is  charged  with 
the  duty  of  guaranteeing  the  quality  of  the  manu- 
factured foods  and  drugs  of  the  United  States,  so 
far  as  they  cross  State  boundary  lines.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  these  foodstuffs  and  drugs  cost  the 
people  at  least  $6,000,000,000,  so  that  the  insur- 
ance of  the  quality  of  the  things  the  people  take 
into  their  stomachs  is  the  cheapest  insurance  in 
the  world.  While  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
pure  food  and  drug  laws  can  not  reach  its  maxi- 


190     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

mum  without  an  intelligent  public  sentiment  be- 
hind it,  yet  the  growing  interest  of  the  Nation  in 
pure-food  regulations  is  tending  toward  that  end. 
While  in  former  years  it  was  estimated  that  very 
little  of  the  manufactured  foodstuffs  was  properly 
made,  or  at  least  properly  branded.  Dr.  Harvey 
W.  Wiley  now  estimates  that  at  least  90  per  cent 
of  the  food  and  drugs  of  the  country  are  made 
and  sold  in  compliance  with  the  law. 

So  effective  has  been  the  work  of  the  bureau 
that  France  has  established  a  pure-food  system 
modeled  after  our  own,  and  other  nations  are 
borrowing  ideas  from  it.  The  bureau  has  over  20 
branch  laboratories,  scattered  among  the  princi- 
pal cities  of  the  country,  and  wherever  its  experts 
have  reason  to  suspect  that  the  pure-food  law  is 
being  violated,  they  take  samples  and  analyze 
them.  If  the  samples  do  not  measure  up  to  the 
requirements  of  the  law,  either  in  the  matter  of 
branding  them  or  in  their  quality,  the  stock  from 
which  they  were  taken  is  seized  and  held  pending 
the  action  of  the  courts.  This  usually  is  favor- 
able to  the  bureau ;  in  fact,  nearly  95  per  cent  of 
the  cases  turn  out  that  way. 

The  seizures  cover  almost  every  kind  of  food 
and  drug  in  the  United  States.  Some  time  ago 
a  widely  advertised  skin  food  was  examined  and 
found  to  be  nothing  more  than  Epsom  salts,  with 
a  little  pink  coloring  matter  added.  In  another 
case,  some  strawberry  jelly  was  seized,  and  upon 
examination  it  was  found  to  be  made  up  of  glu- 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  191 

cose,  timothy  seed,  and  coloring  matter.  Dozens 
of  kinds  of  patent  medicines  have  been  seized, 
and  in  nearly  every  instance  bottles  which  sold 
for  at  least  a  dollar  retail,  contained  only  a  few 
cents '  worth  of  material,  and  that  not  particularly 
meritorious.  One  of  the  chief  endeavors  of  the 
bureau  is  to  put  out  of  business  that  lot  of  human 
vampires  who  would  fatten  upon  the  very  flesh  of 
those  afflicted  with  incurable  diseases.  With  their 
fake  cures  for  cancer,  tuberculosis,  drug  addic- 
tion, and  other  diseases  which  bring  so  much  woe 
to  the  human  race,  they  extract  millions  of  dollars 
from  the  pockets  of  those  who  can  least  afford  it, 
and  leave  them  in  a  last  state  that  is  worse  than 
their  first.  Cancer  cures  that  have  been  adver- 
tised as  possessing  wonderful  properties,  and  car- 
rying with  them  a  long  list  of  seemingly  good 
testimonials,  upon  examination  by  the  bureau 
have  been  found  to  contain  nothing  more  cura- 
tive than  water.  Others  which  were  declared  to 
be  able  to  draw  out  the  worst  cancer  had  nothing 
more  astringent  in  them  than  charcoal.  In  drug 
habit  cures  the  bureau  has  found  that  in  most 
cases  they  contain  other  habit-forming  drugs  as 
bad  as  the  one  for  which  they  claim  to  be  a  cure. 
Hundreds  of  these  "cures"  have  been  denied  the 
use  of  the  mails  through  the  activities  of  the  Bu- 
reau of  Chemistry,  and  thousands  of  poor,  dis- 
traught mortals  suffering  from  incurable  diseases, 
or  who  have  dear  ones  suffering  from  them,  are 
protected  from   the   schemes    of  impostors   who 


192     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

would  grow  rich  upon  their  misery  without  the 
slightest  attempt  to  alleviate  it. 

The  Bureau  of  Chemistry  has  other  functions 
to  perform  than  those  of  inspecting  foods  and 
drugs,  although  about  90  per  cent  of  its  activities 
are  concerned  with  the  enforcement  of  the  pure- 
food  law.  It  is  engaged  in  extensive  researches 
in  the  field  of  nutritive  value  of  foods,  and  is  mak- 
ing a  detailed  study  of  the  deterioration  of  eggs 
and  poultry  in  shipment  and  storage.  An  investi- 
gation of  the  fish  and  oyster  supply  is  also  under 
way.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry 
to  be  able  to  afford  the  people  protection  in  their 
food,  and  also  to  give  them  such  information  as 
will  give  them  refuge  from  the  reign  of  high  prices 
by  pointing  out  those  foodstuffs  which  possess 
the  happy  combination  of  high  nutritive  value,  low 
price,  and  palatable  taste. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  the  bureau  had 
to  face  in  the  beginning  of  its  work  was  the  elimi- 
nation of  coal  tar,  or  analine  dyes  in  coloring 
foodstuffs,  candies,  and  drinks.  A  half  century 
ago  a  young  English  chemist  was  engaged  in  try- 
ing to  find  a  new  process  of  making  quinine.  An 
accidental  combination  gave  him  a  color  known 
as  "mauve."  That  accident  resulted  in  opening 
the  way  for  the  making  of  analine  dyes,  of  which 
there  are  now  more  than  2,000  colors  in  use.  Be- 
fore the  days  of  pure-food  laws,  these  dyes  were 
used  widely  in  the  preparation  of  food  supplies. 

Few  agencies  of  the  Federal  Government  have 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  193 

ever  been  able  to  work  such  reforms  in  such  a 
short  time  as  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry.  It  has 
been  a  storm  center  since  the  enactment  of  the 
pure-food  law,  and  will  remain  so  as  long  as  men 
are  interested  in  making  money  by  selling  ques- 
tionable food  products.  Its  fights  on  the  ques- 
tion of  ''What  is  whisky?"  and  in  the  matter  of 
bleached  flour  were  memorable  combats  with  pow- 
erful interests.  When  the  pure-food  law  was 
pending,  Representative  Stanley,  of  Kentucky, 
showed  his  fellow  Members  of  the  House  how 
some  of  the  whiskies  of  that  day  were  made. 
Holding  up  a  concoction  which  he  had  prepared 
before  their  eyes,  he  remarked  that  it  would  make 
a  howling  dervish  out  of  a  monk  and  a  rabbit  to 
spit  in  a  bulldog's  face. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  if  the  flies  and  mos- 
quitoes of  the  country  could  be  banished  from 
the  United  States  at  one  fell  swoop,  and  if  all  the 
people  of  the  country  could  be  induced  to  observe 
the  principles  laid  down  in  antispitting  ordi- 
nances, it  would  result  in  the  saving  every  year  of 
enough  lives  to  make  an  army  as  great  as  ever 
marched  to  a  single  battle  in  the  history  of 
America.  One  authority  goes  even  further  than 
this,  and  declares  that  a  quarter  of  a  million 
deaths  annually  in  the  United  States  are  to  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  the  mosquito  and  the  fly  alone. 
The  principal  prosecuting  attorney  in  the  case  of 
the  fly  and  the  mosquito  to-day  is  the  Bureau  of 
Entomology  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


194     THE   AlklERICAN   GO\^RNMENT 

A  most  remarkable  case  it  has  made  out  against 
the  fly. 

The  bureau  caused  414  members  of  the  fly  tribe 
to  be  captured  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
and  they  were  searched  for  incriminating  evi- 
dence. Stored  away  on  the  fuzzy  bodies  and  legs 
of  the  culprits  were  found  untold  millions  of 
germs.  In  some  instances,  a  single  fly  carried 
more  than  a  million.  These  were  flies  caught  in 
carefully  sterilized  nets,  so  that  none  of  the  germs 
found  on  them  could  be  laid  at  the  door  of  the 
nets.  Then  each  fly  was  placed  in  a  separate  ster- 
ilized bottle,  and  an  accurately  measured  quantity 
of  sterilized  water  was  put  into  the  bottle  with 
it.  Mr.  Fly  was  allowed  to  swim  around  until 
exhausted,  and  a  drop  of  the  water  was  extracted 
and  the  germs  on  it  counted.  A  careful  record 
was  kept  of  the  showing  made  by  each  fly,  and  the 
lowest  number  was  500,  while  some  of  them 
showed  6,000,000  germs.  And  then  there  has  been 
an  untold  amount  of  other  evidence  gathered. 
During  the  Spanish- American  War  lime  was  used 
in  the  latrines,  and  the  flies  that  swarmed  around 
the  mess  tents  would  have  lime  plainly  visible  on 
their  feet.  In  New  York  filth  was  dyed  with  red 
ink  and  put  on  the  streets.  Flies  soon  showed 
up  in  the  house  with,  red  on  their  legs.  The  Bu- 
reau of  Entomology,  as  prosecuting  attorney 
against  the  fly,  has  prepared  several  pamphlets 
relative  to  the  case,  and  is  ready  to  make  any 
reader  the  sitting  judge  who  will  take  time  to 


THE   PUBLIC   HEALTH  195 

write  for  these  briefs  in  the  case  of  The  People 
V.  The  Fly.  It  also  is  ready  to  submit  evidence 
to  any  reader  in  the  case  of  The  People  v.  The 
Mosquito. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION", 

When  James  Smithson  wrote  his  will  making 
a  bequest  of  half  a  million  dollars  for  the  found- 
ing of  an  institution  for  "the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  among  men, '  *  he  builded  bet- 
ter than  he  knew.  Perhaps  never  in  history  has 
a  half  million  dollars  yielded  such  splendid  re- 
turns as  that  with  which  James  Smithson  en- 
dowed the  institution  which  bears  his  name.  Many: 
of  the  most  portentous  discoveries  in  the  history 
of  science  have  been  made  through  the  activities 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The  foundations 
of  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  were  laid  by 
its  first  secretary,  Joseph  Henry,  as  was  also  the 
understructure  of  the  science  of  meteorology. 
Its  second  secretary,  Spencer  F.  Baird,  instituted 
the  work  of  fish  culture,  without  which  the  food 
fishes  of  this  country,  preyed  upon  by  their  nat- 
ural enemies,  and  gathered  in  by  the  millions  by 
man,  must  have  had  such  great  inroads  made 
upon  them  that  the  commercial  value  of  the  Na- 
tion's fisheries  would  be  vastly  less  than  it  is 
under  scientific  propagation.  Its  third  secretary, 
Samuel  P.  Langley,  is  credited  with  the  begin- 

196 


GOVERNMENT  TAXIDERMIST. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  197 

ning  of  the  transmission  of  time  signals  as  ap- 
plied to  railroad  operations  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  his  work,  also,  which  demonstrated  the  re- 
markable fact  that  the  firefly  is  forty-nine  times 
as  efficient  as  a  lighting  agent  as  the  average  gas 
jet,  and  which  laid  the  fomidation  of  a  series  of 
investigations,  which  may  yet  prove  vastly  im- 
portant to  mankind.  He  also  planned  first  a 
systematic  effort  toward  mastering  the  problems 
involved  in  the  transmission  of  the  heat  and  light 
of  the  sun  to  the  earth,  and  initiated  the  investi- 
gations which  are  being  made  by  all  of  the  me- 
teorological agencies  of  the  civilized  nations  to 
find  out  the  relation  existing  between  the  sun 
and  the  weather.  Further  than  this,  it  was  his 
research  into  the  field  of  aerodynamics  which 
made  possible  the  flying  machine  of  to-day.  The 
Wright  brothers  have  both  testified  that  it  was 
upon  the  work  of  Secretary  Langley  that  they 
founded  their  efforts  to  solve  the  problem  which 
the  birds  have  mastered  from  the  beginning. 

The  present  secretary  of  the  Institution  is 
Charles  D.  Walcott,  who  was  for  many  years 
Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
and  organizer  of  the  United  States  Reclamation 
Service.  Mr.  Walcott  is  one  of  the  leading  Amer- 
ican geologists  and  has  borne  an  important  part 
in  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
the  United  States. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  undertaking  in 
which  the  Smithsonian  is  engaged  to-day  is  the 


198     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

effort  of  Director  C.  G.  Abbot,  of  the  Astro- 
physical  Observatory,  to  solve  the  problems  of 
the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun.  All  life,  all  being, 
everything  with  which  humanity  is  concerned,  de- 
pends upon  this  heat  and  this  light.  Decrease  the 
amount  of  heat  which  comes  from  the  sun  by  a  few 
degrees,  and  the  world  would  become  a  frozen 
sphere,  enshrouded  in  impenetrable  darkness. 

Prof.  Abbot,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Langley 
as  Director  of  the  Observatory,  after  a  series  of 
investigations,  declared  it  probable  that  there 
were  certain  variations  in  the  amount  of  heat  re- 
ceived from  the  sun  at  different  times,  and  that 
these  variations  probably  lie  at  the  bottom  of  all 
weather  changes  on  earth.  So  he  set  to  work  to 
study  sunbeams.  From  that  day  to  this  all  man- 
ner of  traps  have  been  constructed  in  which  to 
catch  these  sunbeams  and  to  compel  them  to  add 
their  mite  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge  about 
the  great  source  of  our  light  and  life.  All  sorts 
of  remarkable  instruments  have  been  made  to 
study  the  sunbeams,  and  to  measure  their  rela- 
tive intensity.  One  of  these  is  known  as  the  bo- 
lometer, a  device  of  Dr.  Langley.  His  earlier  in- 
struments would  record  a  difference  of  tempera- 
ture as  minute  as  a  hundred-thousandth  part  of  a 
degree.  Later  its  sensitiveness  was  so  increased 
that  it  was  able  to  record  a  change  as  minute  as 
the  millionth  part  of  a  degree.  This  has  been 
increased  still  further  from  time  to  time,  until 
now  the  bolometers  of  the  Astrophysical  Observa- 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  199 

tory  are  able  to  detect  changes  in  temperature 
even  down  to  the  hundred-millionth  part  of  one 
degree.  How  much  more  sensitive  this  is  than  the 
human  body  is  disclosed  by  the  fact  that  few  men 
are  able  to  guess  the  temperature  within  five 
degrees. 

The  manner  in  which  the  bolometer  is  used  and 
constructed  is  most  interesting.  It  is  operated 
upon  the  principle  that  a  wire  will  carry  less 
electricity  when  warm  than  when  cold.  There- 
fore, the  end  sought  is  to  concentrate  the  light  or 
heat  waves  upon  a  wire  and  register  the  change 
of  the  amount  of  electricity  passing  through  it. 
The  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  is  received  first 
by  a  plain  mirror,  which  throws  the  beams  of 
light  into  another  mirror,  concave  in  shape.  This 
in  turn  concentrates  the  beam,  which  has  mean- 
while passed  through  a  great  prism  of  rock  salt, 
as  clear  as  glass,  onto  a  platinum  thread  smaller 
than  a  spider's  filament,  through  which  a  current 
of  electricity  is  kept  passing.  The  prism  serves 
to  analyze  the  beam  into  its  different  component 
colors. 

Then  the  bolometer,  placed  successively  in  these 
different  colors,  measures  their  temperatures. 
The  current  is  measured  by  a  galvanometer  or 
little  balance  made  of  a  thread  of  spun  glass,  5 
inches  long  and  as  fine  as  a  human  hair.  This 
is  fastened  to  a  support  by  suspending  it  on  a 
thread  of  spun  quartz,  2  feet  long  and  a  five-thou- 
sandth part  of  an  inch  in  diameter.    In  the  exact 


200     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

middle  of  the  spun-glass  beam  is  fastened  a  mir- 
ror as  small  as  a  pinbead,  so  perfectly  made  that 
every  point  of  tbe  mirror's  side  will  touch  when 
placed  on  a  6-foot  globe.  The  mirror  weighs  no 
more  than  the  hind  leg  of  a  fly. 

With  this  instrument  a  change  of  heat  no 
greater  than  that  given  off  by  a  candle  5  miles 
away  is  easily  recognized.  By  the  use  of  a  spec- 
troscope in  connection  with  the  bolometer,  Direc- 
tor Abbot  is  able  to  study  the  heat  of  the  invisible 
rays  of  light  known  as  the  infra-red  and  the  ultra- 
violet. The  Astrophysical  Observatory  makes  use 
of  pyrheliometers  and  other  extremely  sensitive 
instruments  in  its  investigations.  It  has  con- 
structed a  standard  pyrheliometer  which  will  be 
recognized  as  such  by  all  of  the  investigating 
agencies  of  the  world.  It  maintains  a  station  on 
the  summit  of  Mount  Wilson,  Cal.,  6,000  feet 
above  the  sea  level;  does  occasional  work  upon 
the  summit  of  Mount  Whitney,  14,500  feet  above 
sea  level,  and  at  Washington,  near  the  sea  level. 

The  work  which  has  been  done  during  the  past 
two  or  three  years  leads  to  the  belief  that  Dr. 
Langley's  theories  of  solar  radiation  will  be 
worked  out,  and  that  in  the  years  to  come  mankind 
will  be  able  to  forecast  the  weather  with  far 
greater  accuracy.  How  important  the  mastery 
of  weather  conditions  would  be  can  not  be  appre- 
ciated at  first  blush.  The  farmer  would  never 
need  to  plant  a  crop  and  have  it  overtaken  by  a 
destructive  drought.    Knowing  what  the  season 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  201 

would  be  in  advance,  he  would  sow  crops  requir- 
ing little  moisture  in  dry  seasons,  and  those  re- 
quiring a  great  deal  of  it  in  wet  seasons.  The 
railroads  could  make  their  business  conform  to 
future  weather  conditions,  and  could  run  their 
excursions  at  such  times  as  rain  would  not  inter- 
fere. No  one  would  ever  need  to  be  caught  nap- 
ping by  a  cold  wave  or  a  great  flood.  Political 
conventions  could  always  be  held  when  the 
weather  was  seasonable.  In  a  thousand  ways 
such  a  system  of  accurate  weather  forecasting 
would  prove  of  inestimable  value  to  the  human 
race. 

The  foregoing  instances  of  the  activities  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  direction  of  the 
increase  of  human  knowledge  show  how  effect- 
ively it  has  wrought  in  the  past  in  increasing  such 
knowledge  as  may  be  applied  for  bettering  the 
conditions  of  the  human  race,  but  the  officials  of 
this  Institution  believe  its  usefulness  is  only  well 
begun.  They  point  out  that  the  Institution  is  well 
fitted  to  organize  and  supervise  investigations 
and  explorations  on  which  the  income  of  $20,000,- 
000  could  be  spent  wisely  and  effectively.  Its 
activities  are  not  limited  to  investigations  in  the 
field  of  science  and  art,  but  it  is  able  to  make  his- 
torical and  ethnological  researches,  and  statisti- 
cal inquiries  with  reference  to  physical,  moral, 
and  political  subjects. 

One  of  the  things  it  hopes  to  do  in  the  future, 
if  funds  can  be  raised  for  that  purpose,  is  to 


202     THE   A]\IERICAN'   GOVERNMENT 

make  a  world-wide  study  of  earthquakes  through 
a  national  seismological  laboratory  under  its  di- 
rection. The  immense  destruction  of  life  and 
property  by  large  earthquakes  emphasizes  the  im- 
portance of  investigations  which  may  be  able  to 
bring  about  a  reduction  of  the  damage  of  these 
great  disturbances.  The  science  of  seismology 
is  in  its  infancy,  but  enough  is  known  to  show  that 
the  hope  of  the  successful  prediction  of  earth- 
quakes is  not  a  chimera.  The  accurate  surveys  of 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  in  California 
demonstrated  that  the  great  earthquake  of  1906 
was  due  to  forces  set  up  by  slow  movements  of 
the  land  which  probably  had  been  going  on  for  a 
hundred  years.  Having  learned  that  such  slow 
movements  precede  many  large  earthquakes, 
monuments  are  now  being  set  up  in  California  to 
enable  scientists  to  discover  future  movements 
of  the  land  which  will  enable  them  to  predict  the 
approach  of  the  giant  earth  tremors. 

In  its  efforts  to  increase  the  sum  of  human 
knowledge,  the  Institution  aids  investigators  by 
making  grants  for  research  and  exploration,  sup- 
plying books,  apparatus,  laboratory  accommoda- 
tions, etc.  It  advises  the  Government  in  many 
matters  of  a  scientific  character,  supports  a  table 
at  the  Naples  Marine  Zoological  Station,  and  co- 
operates with  all  scientific  bodies  of  national  im- 
portance, such  as  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Sciences.    In  its  work  of  spread- 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  203 

ing  knowledge,  the  Institution  maintains  three 
regular  series  of  publications.  One  of  these  is  its 
annual  report,  which  presents  a  review  of  scien- 
tific progress  during  the  year  it  covers.  Another 
is  the  ''Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowl- 
edge,'' consisting  of  frequently  issued  works  in 
each  of  which  is  published  to  the  world  some  origi- 
nal contribution  to  its  information,  based  on  re- 
search. The  third  series  is  kno^vn  as  the  ''Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous  Collections,"  which  contains 
much  information  of  great  direct  value  to  the 
scientist,  and  indirect  value  to  the  public  at  large. 
The  endowment  of  the  Institution  amounts  ap- 
proximately to  $1,000,000,  from  which  an  annual 
income  of  $58,000  a  year  is  received. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  the  Institution  car- 
ried forward  with  its  own  funds,  it  has  charge  of 
activities  of  the  Government  besides  the  Astro- 
physical  Observatory,  which  are  supported  by  con- 
gressional appropriations.  One  of  these  is  the 
National  Museum.  No  better  museum  for  scien- 
tific research  is  to  be  found  any^vhere  in  the  world. 
Scientists  from  everywhere  come  here  to  study 
the  various  collections.  The  Division  of  Eco- 
nomic Geology  contains  more  than  half  a  million 
different  exhibits,  and  is  the  world's  foremost 
collection  of  its  kind.  One  may  find  any  sort  of 
exhibit,  from  a  huge  meteorite  weighing  thou- 
sands of  pounds  to  a  few  grains  of  sand. 

No  collection  in  the  Museum  is  more  interest- 
ing to  the  visitor  than  the  anthropological  exhibit. 


204     THE   A]\IERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Here  one  may  trace  human  progress  from  tlie 
stone  age  down  to  our  own  twentieth  century  civi- 
lization. He  may  trace  the  development  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  all  through  the  centuries,  from 
the  day  when  man  first  became  the  master  of  fire 
and  made  his  first  hollowed-out  log  boat,  down  to 
the  time  when  he  studies  the  invisible  rays  of  light 
and  heat  and  crosses  the  ocean  on  a  Mauretania. 
One  may  see  the  skeletons  of  extinct  animals  so 
large  that  those  of  the  elephant  seem  small  in 
comparison.  He  may  stand  under  the  skeleton 
of  a  huge  whale,  more  than  80  feet  long,  and  look 
through  a  microscope  at  sea  shells  so  small  that 
to  the  naked  eye  they  seem  but  specks  of  dust. 

The  collection  of  birds  contains  over  180,000 
specimens,  nearly  70,000  eggs,  and  many  nests. 
Of  the  18,000  or  more  kinds  of  birds  the  National 
Museum  possesses  a  goodly  share,  from  humming 
birds  to  ostriches,  only  two  families  of  living  birds 
being  unrepresented.  Among  eggs,  the  Museum 
possesses  a  perfect  one  of  the  giant  ^pyornis,  an 
extinct  bird  much  larger  than  the  ostrich,  and 
whose  eggs  are  occasionally  exposed  in  the  sands 
of  Madagascar. 

The  collection  of  insects  is  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  world,  and  here  one  may  see  various  forms 
from  all  regions,  as  well  as  insects  with  curious 
habits.  One  of  the  latter  is  the  bombardier  bee- 
tle, which,  when  attacked,  as  a  means  of  defense 
discharges  with  a  distinct  report  an  offensively 
smelling  liquid. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  205 

The  mammal  collection  contains  about  150,000 
specimens,  ranging  from  the  smallest  shrew, 
barely  one-fourth  the  size  of  a  house  mouse,  to 
the  largest  elephant  and  whale.  The  large  skins 
are  tanned  and  kept  in  dark  cases  where  they 
will  not  be  injured  by  the  light,  and  where  they 
can  be  easily  examined  by  persons  interested  in 
their  study.  A  few  representing  the  more  char- 
acteristic kinds  are  mounted.  A  collection  which 
has  excited  much  popular  interest  is  that  brought 
home  by  the  naturalists  of  the  Smithsonian  Afri- 
can Expedition  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  It  numbers  about  5,000  mam- 
mals, including  the  giant  eland,  an  antelope  as 
large  as  an  ox,  never  before  brought  to  this  coun- 
try, and  the  square-lipped  rhinoceros,  which  is 
now  confined  to  regions  not  easily  visited  by 
sportsmen,  as  well  as  several  thousand  specimens 
of  birds,  reptiles,  fishes,  mollusks,  etc. 

The  National  Museum  contains  a  collection  of 
exhibits  which  enables  the  visitor  to  read  the 
story  of  American  history  and  American  prog- 
ress at  a  glance.  Here  he  may  see  the  relics  of 
George  Washington,  among  them  his  army  coat 
and  his  camp  kit.  In  another  case  one  beholds 
the  relics  of  Grant,  in  another  those  of  Lincohi, 
and  so  on  all  the  way  down  through  the  line  of 
American  men  of  fame.  In  other  rooms  he  may 
behold  the  whole  story  of  American  railroad 
transportation,  from  the  old  John  Bull  engine 
down  to  the  present  day.    Here  is  the  first  clumsy 


206     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

typewriter  ever  invented,  and  there  one  of  the 
latest  models  of  the  combined  writing  and  adding 
machine.  A  National  Gallery  of  Art  has  also  been 
established  and  large  collections  are  being  gath- 
ered. 

An  interesting  work  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, carried  on  nnder  Government  appropria- 
tions, is  the  exchange  of  publications  authorized 
by  Congress  for  those  of  other  Governments.  The 
proceeds  of  this  exchange  constitute  an  important 
addition  to  the  Library  of  Congress.  The  Institu- 
tion also  acts  as  intermediary  for  an  exchange 
of  publications  between  the  learned  bodies  and 
literary  and  scientific  societies  of  the  United 
States  and  those  of  other  countries.  Even  indi- 
viduals are  allowed  to  share  in  its  benefits.  Since 
its  establishment  the  Institution  has  handled  more 
than  3,000,000  packages. 

The  work  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnol- 
ogy is  also  directed  by  the  Smithsonian.  This 
bureau  has  been  engaged  in  preserving  for  the 
future  the  languages,  songs,  customs,  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  Indians.  It  has  collected  data  concern- 
ing 60  linguistic  stocks  of  Indians  and  upward  of 
300  tribes.  It  has  done  much  in  the  exploration 
and  preservation  of  American  antiquities  and 
their  protection  from  vandalism.  The  National 
Zoological  Park,  at  Washington,  with  an  area  of 
167  acres  and  a  collection  of  nearly  1,500  animals, 
is  maintained  under  the  supervision  of  the  Smith- 
sonian. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  207 

One  of  the  most  interesting  works  in  which  the 
Smithsonian  is  engaged,  as  the  agent  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, is  that  of  acting  as  the  regional  bureau 
of  the  International  Catalogue  of  Scientific  Liter- 
ature. This  great  catalogue  began  with  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  each  year 
there  are  published  17  volumes,  in  which  are  cata- 
logued every  contribution  to  scientific  knowledge 
made  in  every  country  of  the  world.  Over  10,000 
pages  are  annually  required  to  list  these  contri- 
butions according  to  authors  and  subjects.  To 
have  one  consolidated  index  of  all  the  doings  of 
mankind  in  the  field  of  science  is  to  possess  one 
of  the  most  valuable  of  all  aids  to  human  en- 
deavor. The  International  Catalogue  aims  not 
only  to  cite  the  title  and  the  author  of  every 
scientific  book  and  paper  published  in  the  entire 
world,  but  briefly  to  supply  an  analytical  digest 
of  the  subject-matter  of  each.  This  is  accom- 
plished in  a  most  ingenious  way.  Letters  are 
made  to  represent  heads  and  figures  subheads, 
and  by  these  figures  the  users  of  the  index  can 
determine  at  once  what  subjects  are  treated  in 
each  contribution  cited.  This  great  publication, 
growing  at  a  rate  that  will  make  1,700  volumes  by 
the  end  of  the  present  century,  is  not  a  money- 
making  scheme.  In  fact,  there  is  no  provision 
whatever  for  the  use  of  any  surplus  that  might 
accrue  from  its  publication  and  sale.  It  is  purely 
a  permanent  establishment  of  world  cooperation, 
with  no  other  aim  than  to  support  itself  and  to 


208     THE   AMEEICAN   GOVERNMENT 

become  invaluable  to  the  human  race.  It  has 
commanded  the  active  cooperation  of  nearly  every 
civilized  Government.  Each  nation  prepares  the 
index  of  its  current  scientific  literature  for  the 
year.  The  work  of  the  United  States  is  done  at 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.  After  these  national 
indexes  are  prepared  they  are  sent  to  London, 
where  the  central  bureau  is  located,  and  there 
they  are  each  year  consolidated  into  the  one  huge 
index  of  17  volumes.  In  the  regional  bureau  of 
the  United  States  every  scientific  publication  in 
the  country  is  gone  through  as  with  a  fine-tooth 
comb  for  scientific  matters.  Then  recourse  is  had 
to  every  published  index,  to  make  sure  that  noth- 
ing has  been  overlooked.  Every  stone  of  litera- 
ture that  may  cover  some  scientific  truth  is  turned 
in  the  patient  search  for  new  matter. 

The  bureau  at  the  Smithsonian  furnishes  be- 
tween 25,000  and  30,000  references  a  year,  which 
cover  approximately  one-eighth  of  the  scientific 
work  of  the  world.  Millions  of  dollars  are  being 
spent  every  year  in  scientific  investigation  and 
many  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  day  are  devoting 
their  entire  time  to  such  work.  It  has  remained 
for  this  index  to  make  all  of  this  endeavor  avail- 
able to  scientific  men  and  the  world  at  large.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  this  great  undertaking 
is  the  result  of  a  suggestion  made  in  1855  by  Pro- 
fessor Joseph  Henry,  the  first  secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

THE  PANAMA  CANAL. 

No  other  engineering  undertaking  in  the  entire 
history  of  the  world  compares  with  that  of  dig- 
ging the  Panama  Canal.  It  required  100,000  men 
20  years  to  build  the  pyramid  of  Cheops;  a  hole 
deep  enough  to  bury  12  such  pyramids  is  made  in 
a  year  at  Panama.  It  required  nearly  a  score 
of  years  to  build  the  Suez  Canal;  as  much  dirt 
is  excavated  at  Panama  in  12  months.  The  Man- 
chester Ship  Canal  was  a  number  of  years  in 
building;  that  task  is  duplicated  in  15  months  at 
Panama. 

It  took  the  French  as  many  years  to  discover 
that  they  could  not  build  a  15-foot  canal  as  it  will 
take  the  United  States  to  make  it  a  finished  water- 
way 40  feet  deep ;  and  it  cost  the  French  as  much 
to  make  a  failure  of  their  project  as  it  will  cost 
the  United  States  to  make  a  success  of  its  under- 
taking. 

Chief  Engineer  George  W.  Goethals  has  made 
himself  the  greatest  digger  in  history.  In  four 
years  he  excavated  enough  material  to  make  a 
monument  of  dirt  with  a  base  larger  than  the 
height  of  the  Washington  Monument  and  tower- 

209 


210     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ing  far  into  the  regions  of  perpetual  snow.  This 
material  would  fill  a  modern  dirt  train  long 
enough  to  girdle  the  globe  two-and-a-half  times. 
"When  Uncle  Sam  took  hold  of  the  work  of  build- 
ing the  canal  it  was  figured  that  it  would  require 
nine  years  to  excavate  105,000,000  yards  of  dirt; 
at  the  rate  the  work  is  now  progressing  he  will 
have  moved  165,000,000  yards  in  five  years.  The 
cost  of  excavating  a  yard  of  dirt  in  Culebra  Cut 
has  been  reduced  from  11.5  cents  to  8.88  cents. 
The  distance  the  excavated  material  is  hauled  in- 
creased from  8  to  12  miles  in  two  years,  but  the 
cost  of  hauling  it  was  reduced  from  18.54  cents 
a  yard  to  15.22  cents. 

Measured  in  the  results  which  will  follow  the 
completion  of  the  undertaking,  the  work  at 
Panama  stands  in  a  class  by  itself.  Cities  which 
are  to-day  mere  way  stations  on  the  international 
routes  of  trade  will  grow  into  rich  world  centers. 
The  East  will  be  brought  8,000  miles  closer  to  the 
"West.  Eighty  million  tons  of  freight  a  year  may 
be  carried  through  the  canal  without  overtaxing 
its  facilities. 

The  most  extensive  part  of  the  work  of  con- 
structing the  Panama  Canal  is  that  of  actually 
digging  the  big  ditch.  The  material  which  must 
come  out  of  it  represents  an  amount  equivalent 
to  that  which  would  be  required  to  make  a  canal 
through  level  ground  from  Washington  to  New 
York  large  enough  to  float  a  Lusitania.  The  two 
ends  of  the  big  waterway  are  simply  sea-level 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  211 

ditches  from  deep  water  in  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Pacific,  a  distance  of  7  miles  to  Gatun  on  the 
Atlantic  side  and  8  miles  to  Miraflores  on  the 
Pacific  side. 

Think  of  a  single  landslide,  with  a  superficial 
area  of  47  acres,  slipping  foot  by  foot  into  the 
canal!  Yet  the  canal  diggers,  when  they  en- 
counter such  an  unexpected  diflSculty,  simply  re- 
double their  efforts  and  declare  they  will  not  per- 
mit it  to  delay  the  opening  of  the  canal  one  single 
hour!  Think  of  loading  a  20-car  dirt  train  with 
800  tons  of  material  with  less  than  a  hundred 
shovelfuls  of  dirt!  Think  of  exploding  a  single 
blast  of  20  tons  of  dynamite  and  tearing  loose  70,- 
000  yards  of  earth  and  stone !  These  are  some  of 
the  things  which  show  how  gigantic  is  the  under- 
taking. 

The  middle  section  of  the  canal,  34  miles  long, 
has  a  water  level  85  feet  higher  than  the  sections 
from  Gatun  and  Miraflores  to  the  sea.  The  canal 
diggers  are  damming  up  the  Chagres  Eiver  at 
Gatun  so  as  to  make  a  great  lake,  cutting  a  great 
ditch  through  the  Culebra  Mountain  so  as  to  per- 
mit the  water  of  this  lake  to  back  up  to  a  depth 
of  40  feet  through  the  mountain.  This  requires 
a  dam  at  Gatun  which  will  make  the  lake  85  feet 
deep  at  that  point.  This  dam  is  approximately 
a  mile-and-a-half  long,  a  half  mile  wide  at  the  bot- 
tom, 400  feet  wide  at  the  water  line,  and  a  hun- 
dred feet  wide  at  the  top.  Its  total  height  will 
be  115  feet,  or  30  feet  higher  than  the  surface  of 


212     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

the  water  in  the  lake  it  creates.  It  covers  288 
acres  of  land. 

Its  slope  is  so  gradual  as  hardly  to  be  noticed 
in  the  landscape.  Take  a  yardstick  and  raise 
one  end  3  inches  higher  than  the  other,  and  the 
resulting  slope  will  be  considerably  steeper  than 
the  average  slope  of  the  Gatun  Dam.  When 
completed  the  dam  will  contain  some  20,000,000 
yards  of  material,  which  is  being  put  into  place 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  5,000,000  yards  a  year. 
Construction  was  begun  by  building  two  parallel 
lines  of  stone  retaining  walls  across  the  valley, 
1,200  feet  apart.  Between  these  two  walls  mil- 
lions of  cubic  yards  of  sand  and  clay  are  being 
pumped  into  large  ponds  maintained  at  the  crest 
of  the  dam.  The  water  deposits  its  load  of  solid 
matter  and  flows  off  to  be  pumped  up  again  with 
another  load.  The  natural  cement  held  in  sus- 
pension by  the  dredged  water  tightens  up  every 
tiny  space  as  a  brick  mason  might  close  a  hole  in 
the  wall. 

One  of  the  problems  which  the  engineers  have 
had  to  encounter  in  building  the  Gatun  Dam  is 
that  of  disposing  of  the  vast  amount  of  surplus 
water  which  comes  down  the  Chagres.  This  is  a 
moody  stream,  sometimes  quiet  and  shallow  and 
at  other  times  a  torrential  river  with  a  sustained 
flow  of  137,000  cubic  feet  of  water  a  second.  How 
to  build  a  spillway  that  will  pass  such  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  water  from  the  lake  surface  to  the 
sea  level,  85  feet  below,  has  been  a  difficult  prob- 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  213 

lem  to  solve.  The  lake  has  been  made  so  big, 
covering  164  square  miles  of  superficial  surface, 
that  the  Chagres  on  its  greatest  rampage  might 
flow  into  it  for  more  than  five  hours  and  yet  raise 
its  level  only  1  foot ;  the  water  level  may  be  raised 
7  feet  without  doing  damage. 

The  Chagres  now  crosses  the  line  of  the  canal 
23  times  on  its  23-miIe  journey  from  Gamboa, 
where  it  first  strikes  the  big  waterway,  to  Gatun. 
When  the  Gatun  Dam  is  completed  the  river  will 
lose  itself  in  the  waters  of  the  lake  at  Gamboa. 
The  spillway  over  which  the  surplus  water  of  the 
Gatun  Lake  will  flow  consists  of  a  huge  crescent- 
shaped  dam  of  concrete  surmounted  by  13  large 
piers  and  2  big  abutments,  which  divide  the  dam 
into  14  openings,  each  of  which  will  be  opened 
and  closed  by  giant  gates. 

Almost  every  method  of  excavating  known  to 
the  engineering  world  is  brought  into  use  in  dig- 
ging the  Panama  Canal.  At  the  entrance  on  each 
side  of  the  Isthmus  giant  seagoing  suction 
dredges  collect  the  material  and  carry  it  out  to 
sea.  On  each  side  of  one  of  these  dredges  are 
huge  20-inch  suckers,  operated  by  centrifugal 
pumps,  which  work  with  such  tremendous  suction 
power  that  they  pick  up  such  things  as  pieces  of 
anchor  chains. 

In  the  Culebra  Cut  the  steam  shovel  is  king, 
and  dynamite  by  the  carload  is  used.  More  than 
a  million  pounds  of  explosives  are  fired  off  every 
month  in  the  canal  works,  the  major  portion  of 


214     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

which  is  used  at  Culebra.  In  some  of  the  big 
blasts  25  or  more  wells  are  dug  by  machines  oper- 
ated by  the  largest  air-compressor  plant  in  the 
world,  and  into  each  of  these  holes  the  major  por- 
tion of  a  ton  of  dynamite  is  placed,  and  then  the 
whole  thing  is  touched  off  by  pressing  an  electric 
button. 

In  another  place  hydraulic  excavation  is  re- 
sorted to.  Here  one  sees  a  great  pumping  sta- 
tion capable  of  forcing  30,000  gallons  of  water  a 
minute  through  a  pipe  which  tapers  from  40  to 
16  inches  in  diameter.  To  this  are  attached  four 
or  five  flexible  water  nozzles  through  which  are 
forced  streams  of  water  from  4  to  6  inches  in  di- 
ameter, with  a  pressure  of  130  pounds  to  the 
square  inch.  These  streams  of  water  literally  eat 
the  dirt  away. 

The  canal  would  be  of  no  use  were  there  not  a 
method  of  getting  ships  from  the  sea  level  to  the 
lake  level,  85  feet  above,  and  vice  versa.  To  ac- 
complish this  purpose  giant  marine  stairways  are 
being  built.  These  are  constructed  like  a  double- 
track  railway,  so  that  one  ship  may  be  going  up 
while  another  is  going  down.  There  are  three 
steps  in  the  stairway  at  Gatun  on  the  Atlantic 
side.  On  the  Pacific  side  there  is  one  step  at 
Pedro  Miguel  and  two  at  Miraflores.  At  each 
step  a  ship  is  lifted  up  or  down  slightly  more  than 
28  feet.  The  two  side-by-side  locks,  including  the 
outside  walls,  are  approximately  380  feet  wide. 
They  are  separated  by  an  inside  wall  or  parti- 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  215 

tion,  whicli  is  60  feet  thick.  Eunning  lengthwise 
through  the  outside  walls  and  the  middle  parti- 
tion are  great  culverts,  or  concrete  pipe  lines, 
which  are  almost  large  enough  to  serve  as  tunnels 
for  a  double-track  railroad.  Connecting  with 
these  three  huge  tunnels  are  a  series  of  smaller 
ones,  8  feet  in  diameter,  which  run  across  the  locks 
under  their  floors.  These  open  through  the  floors 
of  the  locks  in  a  series  of  holes,  each  2  feet  in 
diameter. 

The  water  is  first  admitted  into  the  big  tunnels, 
and  passes  from  them  into  smaller  ones  beneath 
the  floors  of  the  locks,  and  from  them  into  the 
lock  itself.  When  a  ship  seeks  to  pass  out  of 
Gatun  Lake  to  the  sea  level,  the  upper  gates  are 
opened  and  electric  towing  locomotives  pull  it 
into  the  first  lock.  Then  the  gates  are  closed  be- 
hind it,  and  the  valves  in  the  tunnel  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  water  passes  out  of  the  upper 
lock,  down  through  the  holes  in  the  floor,  then 
through  the  small  tunnels,  then  through  the  large 
ones,  and  then  into  the  next  lock  below.  As  soon 
as  the  water  in  this  lock  rises  to  the  level  of  the 
water  in  the  lock  above,  the  gate  between  them  is 
opened  and  the  ship  is  towed  into  the  lower  lock. 
This  operation  is  repeated  until  the  vessel  finds 
itself  85  feet  lower  than  it  was  when  the  process 
of  lockage  began. 

The  lock  machinery  is  operated  by  electricity 
generated  at  Gatun  Dam.  The  world's  most  elab- 
orate system  of  protecting  the  locks  from  injury 


216     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

has  been  resorted  to.  Wlien  a  ship  approaches 
the  upper  lock,  it  encounters  a  huge  steel  chain, 
each  end  fastened  to  a  giant  hydraulic  jack.  After 
the  vessel  is  stopped,  it  will  be  met  by  four  large 
towing  locomotives  on  narrow-gauge  racktracks. 
Two  of  these  will  hitch  to  its  bow  and  two  to  its 
stern,  the  two  in  front  pulling  it  forward  and  the 
two  behind  preventing  it  from  moving  too  rapidly. 
At  every  vital  point  in  the  lock  system  there  will 
be  a  duplicate  set  of  gates,  their  weight  varying 
from  300  to  600  tons.  Each  gate  is  composed  of 
two  leaves,  hinged  to  the  side  walls  of  the  lock 
like  an  ordinary  pair  of  one-way  double  doors,  ex- 
cept that  they  do  not  shut  straight  across  the 
stream,  but  come  together  like  a  flattened  V,  with 
the  apex  pointing  upstream.  They  will  be  opened 
and  closed  by  a  huge  arm  weighing  130,000  pounds 
and  having  a  diameter  of  16  inches. 

In  addition  to  all  the  other  precautions  to  in- 
sure the  safety  of  the  locks,  there  is  an  emergency 
dam  provided.  It  consists  of  a  large  cantilever 
bridge  mounted  on  a  pivot  base  on  the  side  wall 
of  the  upper  end  of  the  uppermost  lock.  In  case 
everything  went  wrong  and  the  water  in  the  lake 
should  begin  to  rush  out  through  the  locks  at  the 
destructive  speed  of  28  feet  a  second,  this  bridge 
would  be  turned  across  the  lock,  and  a  set  of  gir- 
ders made  of  the  hardest  nickel  steel,  would  be  let 
down,  one  end  fast  to  the  bridge,  and  the  other 
engaging  an  offset  in  the  lock  floor.  Each  of 
these  girders  would  make  a  sort  of  inclined  rail- 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  217 

way,  on  which  huge  sheets  of  steel,  mounted  on 
roller  bearmgs,  would  be  let  down  to  check  the 
current. 

The  work  of  building  the  six  locks  required  for 
the  canal  is  proceeding  with  unexampled  dispatch. 
It  requires  over  2,000,000  barrels  of  cement,  and 
as  many  cubic  yards  of  stone  and  sand,  to  build 
the  locks  at  each  end  of  the  canal.  The  concrete 
handling  plants  are  the  largest  of  their  kinds  in 
the  world.  At  Gatun  clamshell  buckets,  carried 
on  big  cableways  and  operated  entirely  by  ma- 
chinery, unload  the  rock  and  sand  from  the  barges. 
It  is  then  loaded  on  automatic  electric  cars  in  ex- 
act portions,  and  is  carried  to  the  big  concrete 
mixers  which  handle  more  than  two  2-horse  loads 
at  a  time.  The  cars  on  the  double-tracked  cir- 
cular electric  railway  need  no  motormen.  The 
current  is  so  regulated  that  their  speed  is  kept 
constant  at  about  3  miles  an  hour.  Boys  cut  off 
the  switch  of  each  car  as  it  reaches  its  stopping 
place.  When  the  concrete  is  mixed  it  is  dumped 
into  big  buckets  mounted  on  flat  cars  drawn  by 
small  electric  locomotives.  These  haul  two  buck- 
ets to  a  point  under  a  big  cableway,  by  which  they 
are  carried  to  the  place  where  the  material  is  to 
be  dumped. 

One  of  the  remarkable  circumstances  connected 
with  the  construction  of  the  canal  is  the  great  in- 
crease in  working  efficiency  that  has  taken  place. 
A  ton  of  dynamite  is  now  made  to  do  twice  as 
much  work  as  it  did  two  years  ago.    Expert  at- 


218     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

tention  given  to  the  use  of  the  lubricating  oil 
alone  has  resulted  in  the  saving  of  $6,000  a  year. 
By  shaking  the  cement  out  of  the  empty  bags  and 
returning  them  to  the  manufacturers,  $50,000  a 
month  is  saved.  In  a  hundred  ways  efficiency  has 
been  developed  with  the  result  that  the  canal  army 
has  a  record  of  an  average  annual  excavation  of 
32,000,000  cubic  yards,  as  compared  with  a  pre- 
dicted average  of  less  than  12,000,000  yards. 

The  United  States  owns,  in  connection  with  the 
work  of  building  the  canal,  the  Panama  Railroad, 
which  is  47  miles  long  and  has  net  earnings,  in- 
cluding the  steamship  line  it  operates,  of  nearly 
$2,000,000  a  year.  The  French  bought  the  road 
for  $18,000,000  and  sold  it  to  the  United  States 
for  $7,000,000.  The  road  has  been  relocated  and 
has  a  larger  number  of  embankments  in  propor- 
tion to  its  length  than  any  other  railway  in  the 
world,  one  of  them  being  82  feet  high,  more  than 
a  mile  long,  and  containing  nearly  3,000,000  yards 
of  dirt  and  rock.  This  railroad  carries  nearly 
2,500,000  passengers  a  year. 

Nine  thousand  Americans  live  on  the  Canal 
Zone,  of  whom  more  than  half  are  in  the  actual 
employ  of  the  Canal  Commission  or  the  Panama 
Railroad.  They  command  wages  50  per  cent 
higher  than  those  obtained  in  the  United  States; 
their  clothes  cost  much  less ;  their  food  is  bought 
at  cost ;  they  get  houses  rent  free,  free  light,  free 
medical  service,  free  transportation  to  free  schools 
for  their  children. 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  219 

The  bulk  of  the  manual  labor  on  the  canal  is 
performed  by  West  Indian  negroes  who  are  paid 
90  cents  a  day.  These  negroes  are  given  the 
privilege  of  free  lodging  and  are  furnished  three 
square  meals  a  day  for  10  cents  each.  Often  one 
sees  one  of  these  negroes  with  nothing  in  either 
hand  and  carrying  an  umbrella  or  a  letter  on  his 
head.  Once  a  new  gang  of  them  were  set  to  the 
work  of  hauling  away  dirt  with  a  wheelbarrow. 
Three  of  them  filled  up  the  wheelbarrow,  after 
which  one  stooped  down  and  the  other  two  placed 
it  upon  his  head  to  be  borne  away. 

Arrangements  are  now  being  made  for  the  for- 
tification of  the  canal.  This  will  consist  of  large 
forts  at  each  end  of  the  canal,  in  each  of  which 
will  be  placed  four  14-inch  rifles,  six  6-inch  guns, 
and  twelve  12-inch  mortars.  Twelve  companies  of 
Coast  Artillery,  four  regiments  of  Infantry,  one 
battalion  of  Field  Artillery,  and  a  squadron  of 
Cavalry  will  be  stationed  here  in  time  of  peace. 
The  fortifications  are  expected  to  cost  $12,000,000. 

Chief  Engineer  George  W.  Goethals  is  already 
making  arrangements  for  the  operation  of  the 
canal.  It  is  thought  that  the  tolls  will  be  fixed  at 
a  dollar  a  ton,  which  will  be  cheaper  than  going 
through  the  Suez  Canal,  around  Cape  Horn,  or 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  cream  of  the  present 
force  will  be  retained  for  the  operation  of  the 
canal.  It  is  intended  to  utilize  the  present  laun- 
dry facilities,  baking  establishments,  coaling 
plants,  machine  shops,  and  everything  else  now  in 


220     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

operation  which  will  promote  trafl&c  through  the 
canal  after  it  is  built. 

One  may  gather  some  idea  of  the  cost  and  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  operations  at  Panama  from 
the  statement  that  it  requires  over  200  tons  of 
silver  and  9  tons  of  gold  to  pay  off  the  canal 
force.  The  employees  are  paid  monthly,  and  pay- 
ments are  made  wholly  in  gold  and  silver. 

The  Canal  Zone  affords  the  finest  example  of 
preventive  medicine  and  public  sanitation  in  the 
world.  The  death  rate  has  been  cut  more  than  in 
half  since  the  beginning  of  the  American  occupa- 
tion. Something  of  the  excellence  of  the  work 
of  sanitation  may  be  inferred  from  the  statement 
that  if  the  United  States  spent  as  much  for  sani- 
tary purposes  in  proportion  to  population  as  is 
spent  in  the  Canal  Zone  and  in  the  cities  of  Pan- 
ama and  Colon,  it  would  spend  $1,200,000,000  a 
year  for  such  purposes.  If  we  spent  as  much  at 
home  in  proportion  to  area  as  we  spend  at 
Panama,  the  annual  outlay  would  approximate 
$12,000,000,000. 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

THE  INTERSTATE   COMMERCE   COMMISSIOIT. 

Regulating  as  it  does  the  affairs  of  common 
carrier  corporations  having  an  annual  income  of 
approximately  $4,000,000,000,  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  is  one  of  the  most  important  of 
the  independent  branches  of  the  Government  serv- 
ice. It  has  governmental  supervision  over  all 
of  the  common  carriers  of  the  United  States  which 
do  an  interstate-commerce  business,  and  which  are 
included  in  the  definition  of  common  carriers  writ- 
ten in  the  interstate-commerce  law.  This  not  only 
includes  the  railroads  doing  an  interstate  busi- 
ness, but  also  such  steamboat  lines  as  operate  in 
interstate  commerce  in  connection  with  railroads, 
under  common  control,  management,  or  arrange- 
ment. It  also  includes  the  interstate  operations 
of  the  express  companies,  sleeping-car  companies, 
telegraph,  cable  and  telephone  companies,  wire- 
less-telegraph companies,  and  pipe  lines  carrying 
other  commodities  than  water  and  gas.  The  rail- 
way lines  which  it  regulates  have  an  aggregate 
mileage  of  more  than  250,000  miles.  They  carry 
annually  some  900,000,000  passengers  and  more 
than  1,500,000,000  tons  of  freight.    The  distance 

221 


222     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

which  these  passengers  are  carried  is  equivalent 
approximately  to  30,000,000,000  miles  for  one  pas- 
senger, and  the  freight  transportation  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  task  of  carrying  1  ton  of  freight  more 
than  200,000,000,000  miles.  The  average  ton  of 
freight  is  moved  1  mile  for  less  than  1  cent. 

Much  of  the  time  of  the  Commission  is  taken 
up  in  the  interpretation  of  interstate-commerce 
laws  for  the  benefit  of  shippers  and  carriers.  A 
court  will  not  answer  a  hypothetical  question  or 
decide  an  imaginary  case,  but  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  will  turn  aside  from  the  red 
tape  of  legal  procedure  and  give  all  parties  in- 
terested the  best  information  it  possesses  with 
reference  to  matters  over  which  it  has  jurisdic- 
tion. If  a  question  arises  which  involves  matters 
of  common  interest  or  frequent  rulings,  general 
rules  are  published  informally  and  the  opinions 
of  the  Commission  are  printed  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  all  who  need  them.  By  this  means  a 
comprehensive  code  of  rules  is  in  process  of  de- 
velopment, the  observance  of  which  will  operate 
to  promote  just  and  impartial  conduct  on  the  part 
of  both  shippers  and  carriers. 

One  of  the  principal  functions  of  the  Commis- 
sion is  to  settle  differences  between  the  common 
carriers  and  their  patrons.  In  doing  this,  it  re- 
ceives two  kinds  of  complaints — formal  and  in- 
formal. Informal  complaints  are  largely  in  the 
majority.  About  4,000  complaints  of  this  nature 
are  filed  annually.    These  complaints  may  be  filed 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    223 

"by  any  citizen  having  a  grievance  against  a  com- 
mon carrier.  They  may  reach  the  Commission 
simply  in  the  form  of  a  letter  stating  the  griev- 
ance. If  the  complaint  is  found  to  be  justified, 
after  an  informal  investigation,  the  offending  car- 
rier receives  a  recommendation  from  the  Commis- 
sion that  it  remove  the  ground  of  complaint. 
These  complaints  range  all  the  way  from  an  al- 
leged overcharge  for  a  railroad  ticket  to  an  un- 
satisfactory method  of  handling  thousands  of 
tons  of  coal.  They  involve  no  expense  to  the  per- 
sons filing  them,  and  usually  result  in  a  satisfac- 
tory adjustment  of  the  matters  at  issue. 

Formal  complaints  cover  every  sort  of  subject 
from  a  claim  for  reparation  involving  a  few  dol- 
lars, to  a  complaint  against  the  entire  tariff  of  a 
railroad,  involving  millions,  or  the  practices  and 
regulations  of  a  large  number  of  carriers.  Some- 
times individuals  and  corporations  make  these 
complaints.  At  other  times  cities  and  towns  make 
them. 

During  an  average  year  approximately  800  for- 
mal complaints  are  filed  with  the  Commission,  and 
a  like  number  are  disposed  of.  Every  one  of 
these  complaints  is  made  public  at  the  time  it  is 
filed.  The  chief  clerk  of  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  has  a  table  in  his  office,  and 
as  the  complaints  come  in  they  are  placed  there 
for  inspection  by  the  representatives  of  news- 
papers all  over  the  country  who  visit  the  offices 
of    the    Commission    to    daily    obtain    informa- 


224     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

tion.  After  the  complaints  have  thus  been  made 
public,  and  notice  served  on  interested  parties, 
the  Commission  sets  a  date  for  hearing  both  sides 
of  the  questions  involved.  During  a  recent  year 
over  700  hearings  and  investigations  were  made. 
A  large  number  of  these  were  held  in  Washing- 
ton, though  the  Commission  or  certain  of  its  mem- 
bers go  to  various  parts  of  the  country  to  hold 
hearings  when  it  is  not  convenient  for  the  inter- 
ested parties  and  their  witnesses  to  come  to 
Washington.  During  a  single  year  as  many  as 
70,000  pages  of  testimony  are  taken,  exclusive  of 
voluminous  exhibits.  If  the  pressure  of  business 
requires  it,  the  duty  of  holding  hearings  may  be 
performed  by  special  examiners  designated  by  the 
Commission.  After  these  hearings  have  been 
held  and  the  testimony  is  printed,  the  commis- 
sioners study  it  and  then  announce  their  decision. 
Since  the  establishment  of  the  Commerce  Court, 
the  decision  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion may  be  appealed  from  to  that  court  by  either 
party  to  the  controversy,  although  in  many  cases 
the  action  of  the  Commission  is  taken  as  final. 

Every  common  carrier  subject  to  the  act  is  re- 
quired to  file  every  interstate  freight  and  pas- 
senger rate  it  makes  with  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission.  During  an  average  year  the 
tariff  publications  so  filed  may  amount  to  more 
than  175,000.  The  law  provides  that  no  tariff 
shall  become  effective  until  30  days  after  notice 
is  given,  except  with  the  permission  of  the  Inter- 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    225 

state  Commerce  Commission.  Sometimes  it  is 
desirable  that  a  certain  rate  may  be  established 
upon  short  notice,  and  during  an  average  year 
about  4,000  such  applications  are  acted  upon  by 
the  Commission. 

Perhaps  the  most  far-reaching  and  fundament- 
ally important  power  conferred  on  the  Commis- 
sion is  the  authority  to  suspend  proposed  ad- 
vances in  rates  pending  investigation  of  their  rea- 
sonableness. The  Commission  must  constantly 
be  on  guard  to  see  that  rate  changes  of  contem- 
plated orders  do  not  adversely  affect  contests  in 
great  cases.  In  order  more  readily  to  determine 
all  rate  matters,  the  Commission  is  trying  to  se- 
cure a  standard  or  uniform  classification  of  all 
freight.  Many  thousands  of  articles  must  be  de- 
scribed in  order  that  a  complete  system  of  uni- 
form classification  may  be  put  into  use. 

The  Commission  is  required  by  law  to  report  to 
the  Attorney  General  all  cases  that  come  to  its 
notice  of  violations  of  the  criminal  sections  of 
the  interstate-commerce  laws.  During  an  aver- 
age year  there  are  about  50  such  prosecutions,  in 
four-fifths  of  which  pleas  of  guilty  are  entered. 
The  penalties  assessed  range  from  $100  to  $120,- 
000,  and  the  aggregate  amounts  to  more  than 
$200,000  a  year.  In  the  case  of  the  Hocking  Valley 
Railroad  and  the  Sunday  Creek  Coal  Company  it 
was  found  that  the  railroad  extended  credit  to  the 
coal  company  to  an  unprecedented  extent,  more 
than  $2,000,000  of  freight  bills  being  left  unpaid. 


226     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNJMENT 

The  Government  indicted  both  the  shipper  and  the 
carrier  on  the  theory  that  such  an  extension  of 
credit  was  in  itself  a  departure  from  the  published 
tariff,  and  also,  that  when  given  to  some  shippers 
and  not  to  others,  it  is  a  discrimination. 

Another  duty  of  the  Commission  is  that  of  su- 
pervising the  accounts  of  the  railroads  and  other 
common  carriers  of  the  country,  and  of  gathering 
statistics  relative  to  their  operation.  Realizing 
that  unless  a  uniform  system  of  accounting  be 
adopted,  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Commis- 
sion to  do  its  work  efficiently.  Congress  clothed  it 
with  authority  to  require  the  institution  of  a  uni- 
form system  of  accounting.  All  accounts  of  every 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  act  must  be  kept 
according  to  classifications  prescribed  by  the 
Commission,  and  it  is  a  punishable  offense  for 
any  carrier  to  keep  any  other  record  whatever 
than  those  prescribed  or  approved  by  the  Com- 
mission. This  uniform  system  of  accounting  re- 
quires common  carriers  to  enter  all  records  of 
their  operation  in  such  a  way  that  the  Commis- 
sion may  know  all  about  every  dollar  they  re- 
ceive, where  it  comes  from,  and  where  it  goes. 

This  provision  is  intended  to  prevent  such  un- 
fair and  unlawful  practices  as  charging  up  to 
operating  expenses  money  used  in  making  a  com- 
mon carrier's  property  more  valuable.  Every 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  act  must  file  a 
monthly  statement  of  all  its  operations,  and  a  final 
annual  statement,  which  must  agree  entirely  with 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    227 

the  sum  of  the  monthly  statements  for  the  year. 
In  its  investigations  of  the  express  companies  of 
the  country  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
has  produced  some  interesting  facts  concerning 
their  operations.  The  figures  show  that  more 
than  70,000,000  pieces  of  express  matter  were  han- 
dled in  3  months,  that  the  average  weight  per 
piece  was  slightly  less  than  33  pounds,  and  that 
the  average  revenue  per  pound  was  1.54  cents. 

Among  the  more  important  duties  of  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  is  that  of  fixing 
rates.  This  is  a  most  difficult  problem,  and  one 
on  which  a  vast  deal  of  conflicting  evidence  is  pro- 
duced in  every  case.  The  railroads  themselves 
often  make  very  contradictory  statements  con- 
cerning this  question.  In  a  recent  State  contro- 
versy the  railroads  affected  declared  that  it 
would  cost  $100,000  a  mile  to  reproduce  their 
property.  Only  a  few  months  before  they  had 
sworn  to  the  tax  collector  that  these  properties 
could  be  reproduced  for  $25,000  a  mile. 

The  law  requires  that  the  railroads  shall  not 
charge  an  ''unreasonable  rate,"  and  what  would 
be  a  reasonable  schedule  of  rates  if  the  road  cost 
$25,000  a  mile  might  be  an  unremunerative  sched- 
ule to  the  railroad  company  if  it  cost  $100,000  a 
mile.  It  is  believed  by  many  that  nothing  but  an 
actual  physical  valuation  of  railroad  property 
can  furnish  a  satisfactory  basis  for  declaring  what 
a  reasonable  rate  is,  and  until  such  a  valuation  is 
possible,  the  next  best  thing  is  to  maintain  a  cur- 


228     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

rent  compilation  of  all  significant  facts  bearing 
upon  the  construction  of  railroads,  and  upon  their 
operating,  financial,  and  other  relations.  This 
work  is  being  done  by  the  Division  of  Statistics 
of  the  Commission.  The  Commission  also  gath- 
ers independent  information  concerning  cases  in 
which  witnesses  for  the  plaintiff  and  the  defen- 
dant have  testified,  so  as  to  be  able  to  determine 
for  itself  the  truth  of  the  testimony. 

The  Commission  requires  all  railroads  to  give 
adequate  reports  of  accidents,  and  has  power  to 
investigate  upon  its  own  initiative  all  collisions, 
derailments,  or  other  accidents.  During  a  recent 
year  there  were  450  passengers  killed  and  15,000 
injured.  During  the  same  year  there  were  up- 
ward of  3,000  employees  killed  and  nearly  70,000 
injured.  Congress  has  gradually  been  forcing 
the  railroads  to  adopt  safety  appliances  which 
tend  to  reduce  the  dangers  of  railway  operation. 
In  1893,  77  out  of  each  thousand  men  engaged  in 
coupling  and  uncoupling  cars,  in  the  employ  of  the 
railroads  of  the  country,  were  injured,  as  com- 
pared with  16  fifteen  years  later.  The  railroads 
long  opposed  the  proposition  that  they  should  be 
required  to  equip  their  trains  with  power  brakes 
and  automatic  couplers.  The  importance  of  re- 
quiring automatic  couplers  is  disclosed  by  the  fact 
that  during  a  recent  year  207  deaths  and  3,002 
injuries  to  employees  were  caused  by  coupling 
accidents.  During  the  same  year  nearly  600 
deaths   and  more  than  13,000  injuries   resulted 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    229 

from  employees  falling  from  cars.  The  require- 
ments that  train  crews  shall  mount  cars  to  oper- 
ate hand  brakes  still  prevails  upon  some  railroads 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  Commission  has 
the  power  to  designate  all  safety  appliances  that 
shall  be  used  and  the  manner  of  their  placing  such 
as  grab  irons,  ladders,  hand  brakes,  and  running 
boards. 

One  of  the  problems  with  which  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  is  now  dealing  is  that  of 
investigating  all  safety  devices  in  the  way  of  block 
signals  and  train  control.  More  than  a  thousand 
different  plans  of  devices  intended  to  promote  the 
safety  of  railway  operations  have  been  submitted 
for  examination  to  the  Block  Signal  and  Train 
Control  Board  organized  by  the  Commission. 
These  devices  apply  to  signals,  automatic  train 
control,  ties,  rails,  switches,  and  other  plans  for 
making  railway  transportation  safer.  One  of 
the  things  which  the  board  is  looking  for  is  a 
really  efficient  and  always  reliable  block  signal. 
There  are  hundreds  of  signaling  devices  which 
will  warn  a  train  crew  when  everything  goes  right, 
but  as  soon  as  something  becomes  wrong  with 
their  own  apparatus  they  are  likely  to  give  the 
train  crew  a  track-clear  signal  when  they  ought 
to  display  the  danger  sign.  In  other  words,  the 
really  safe  block  signal  is  the  one  which  will  warn 
of  its  own  defects,  as  well  as  of  dangers  ahead. 
The  average  block-signal  device  puts  up  the  dan- 
ger signal  when  there  is  another  train  in  the  block;, 


230     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

and  works  all  right  so  long  as  there  is  no  break 
in  its  mechanism.  In  devices  of  this  kind  the 
danger  signal  goes  up  only  when  there  is  a  cur- 
rent of  electricity  passing  through  the  wire. 
When  the  current  is  cut  off  or  the  wire  is  broken 
by  accident  or  malicious  design,  the  semaphore 
shows  clear.  Thus,  if  a  malicious  person  were  to 
tamper  with  the  apparatus  or  if  it  should  in  any 
other  way  get  out  of  order  and  fail  to  carry  the 
current  of  electricity  through,  the  semaphores 
would  signal  clear,  no  matter  what  dangers  might 
be  ahead.  The  closed-circuit  apparatus  over- 
comes this.  In  such  apparatus  the  semaphore  al- 
ways stands  at  danger  when  there  is  no  current 
on,  and  can  be  placed  at  clear  only  by  the  applica- 
tion of  a  current.  If  anything  goes  wrong  with 
this  apparatus,  the  semaphore  automatically  sets 
itself  at  danger,  and  warns  the  oncoming  train. 
No  matter  what  goes  wrong,  as  soon  as  the  elec- 
tric current  ceases  to  pass  through  the  apparatus 
it  can  be  depended  upon  to  stand  guard  at  the 
block  with  its  danger  signal  in  view.  It  may 
sometimes  stop  a  train  when  there  is  no  real  dan- 
ger ahead,  but  it  is  certain  never  to  advise  an 
engineer  that  the  track  ahead  of  him  is  clear  when 
it  is  in  reality  obstructed.  The  engineer  of  a 
fast-moving  train  must  accept  the  instructions  of 
the  signal,  and  with  the  open-circuit  signal  has 
no  means  of  knowing  whether  it  is  telling  the  truth 
or  not  when  showing  clear. 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    231 

In  addition  to  the  block-signal  investigation, 
there  is  the  proposition  of  controlling  trains  hj 
automatic  agents.  It  is  hoped  a  device  may  be 
found  by  which  a  train  can  be  stopped  on  the  safe 
side  of  the  danger  line  even  though  the  engineer 
be  asleep  or  dead  at  his  post.  Such  an  apparatus 
must  not  only  work  well  on  paper,  but  it  must 
show  up  satisfactorily  under  practical  tests.  Hun- 
dreds of  different  devices  have  been  submitted  to 
the  Train  Control  Board,  but  few  of  them  have 
had  merit  enough  even  to  warrant  a  trial.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  devices  which  has  been 
studied  and  tried  out  provides  an  automatic  rec- 
ord of  the  movement  of  all  trains  within  each  10 
or  20  blocks,  and  in  addition  to  this  provides  au- 
tomatic protection  locally  for  all  the  trains.  In 
each  locomotive  cab  there  is  a  bell  and  a  light, 
giving  both  an  audible  and  a  visible  danger  sig- 
nal. Besides  this  there  is  an  automatic  recording 
device,  which  registers  the  action  of  the  engineer 
in  response  to  this  signal  and  the  time  of  that  ac- 
tion. If  he  reverses  his  engine  and  puts  on  the 
emergency  brake,  that  action  is  automatically  reg- 
istered. If  he  fails  to  do  so,  that  fact  is  shown, 
and  the  brakes  are  automatically  applied  by  the 
apparatus.  The  device  also  provides  a  means  of 
interlocking  manual  control,  which  is  so  arranged 
as  to  make  any  false  movement  improbable.  There 
is  a  little  lever  projecting  up  from  the  track  when 
in  position,  which  comes  into  contact  with  another 


232     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

lever  on  the  engine,  and  automatically  puts  on  the 
air  brakes  and  stops  the  train  if  the  engineer  fails 
to  obey  the  signals. 

The  outcome  of  the  investigation  of  the  Block 
Signal  and  Train  Control  Board  will  probably  be 
that  as  soon  as  the  inventions  which  stand  the 
test  of  practical  operation  prove  their  merit,  a 
report  will  be  made  to  Congress  favoring  the 
enactment  of  a  law  requiring  all  railroads  to 
equip  their  trains  and  lines  with  these  protections 
against  the  element  of  human  error,  which  is  al- 
ways present  in  railroad  operations.  There  will 
be  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  railroads  to  the 
enactment  of  such  a  law,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
There  was  opposition  to  the  enactment  of  the 
safety-appliance  law,  but  it  is  probable  that  the 
number  of  lives  that  have  been  saved  by  this  law 
and  the  consequent  falling  off  in  the  number  of 
damage  suits  against  the  railroads  have  more  than 
reimbursed  the  railroads  for  their  expenditure  in 
equipping  their  trains  with  air  brakes  and  auto- 
matic couplings. 

A  law  was  enacted  a  few  years  ago  compelling 
all  railroads  doing  an  interstate  business  to  equip 
their  engines  with  ash  pans  such  as  would  over- 
come the  necessity  for  firemen  to  go  under  their 
locomotives  to  remove  ashes.  Another  law  which 
is  of  recent  enactment  is  the  one  that  requires  all 
locomotive  boilers  to  be  inspected.  Many  people 
have  been  killed  and  much  property  has  been  lost 
by  the  explosion  of  the  boilers  of  engines  in  the 


THE  INTERSTATE  COMMISSION    233 

yards  and  on  the  roads.  The  new  law  is  similar 
to  the  one  which  provides  for  the  inspection  of  all 
steamboats  carrying  passengers  and  of  their  boil- 
ers. The  country  is  laid  off  into  a  number  of 
districts,  with  an  inspector  for  each  of  these  dis- 
tricts. The  chief  of  the  inspection  service  is  ap- 
pointed by  the  President,  and  he  has  considerable 
assistance  besides  the  district  inspectors  through- 
out the  country.  It  is  probable  that  a  careful  list 
of  specifications  will  be  drawn  up,  and  that  the 
locomotive  manufacturer  will  have  to  submit  the 
materials  entering  into  the  construction  of  the 
boilers  to  the  boiler  inspectors.  In  addition  to 
this,  engines  in  service  will  be  inspected  at  fre- 
quent intervals  and  tests  will  be  made  to  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  they  may  be  safely  used. 
AVhen  a  locomotive  is  condemned  by  the  inspect- 
ors, it  will  be  sent  to  the  scrap  heap  or  to  the  re- 
pair shop. 

Another  activity  of  the  Commission  has  to  do 
with  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  a  law 
which  forbids  railroad  employees  connected  with 
the  movement  of  trains  to  be  on  duty  more  than  a 
specified  number  of  hours  in  any  24.  This  law 
will  not  allow  a  railroad  man  to  work  extra  hours, 
even  though  he  desires  to  make  the  extra  pay  such 
extra  work  carries  with  it. 

Any  member  of  the  Commission  may  be  named' 
by  the  President,  under  what  is  known  as  the 
Erdmann  Act,  to  cooperate  with  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor  in  any  effort  to  settle  any  differ- 


234     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ences  which  may  arise  between  railroads  and 
their  employees.  This  measure  has  resulted  in 
the  arbitration  of  many  disputes  between  the  rail- 
roads and  the  men  in  their  employ. 

It  seems  certain  that  as  the  years  go  by  stricter 
regulation  of  the  common  carriers  of  the  country 
will  be  the  policy  of  Congress.  The  duty  of  super- 
vising the  enforcement  of  the  laws  regulating 
them  will  fall  upon  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, and  as  nothing  affects  the  people  more 
intimately  than  transportation,  the  work  of  this 
Commission  will  be  felt  by  every  citizen  more  or 
less  directly. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

OUR  INSULAE  POSSESSIONS. 

Few  Americans  realize  the  fact  that  the  United 
States  owns  and  exercises  jurisdiction  over  more 
than  3,000  of  the  islands  of  the  sea,  whose  aggre- 
gate population  is  upward  of  10,000,000,  and  the 
combined  area  of  which  is  more  than  700,000 
square  miles. 

The  Philippine  Islands  and  Porto  Eico  are 
largely  autonomous,  framing  their  own  laws  un- 
der the  liberal  provisions  of  their  respective  or- 
ganic acts  passed  by  Congress,  subject  to  review 
by  Congress.  The  affairs  of  these  islands  are  ad- 
ministered by  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs  of 
the  War  Department,  through  which  information 
respecting  them  is  disseminated. 

The  islands  of  the  Philippine  group  number 
3,141,  and  have  a  total  land  area  of  nearly  125,- 
000  square  miles,  approximately  that  of  the  six 
New  England  States,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey. 
There  are  some  8,000,000  people  in  the  Philip- 
pines, about  seven  and  one-half  million  of  whom 
are  civilized,  Christian  people,  the  Filipinos  being 
the  only  Christian  people  in  the  Orient.    The  re- 

235 


236     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

mainder  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  are  Mo- 
hammedans and  pagans  who  maintained  auto- 
cratic forms  of  tribal  government  until  recently. 

The  whole  of  the  Archipelago  is  now  under 
civil  government,  but  in  some  of  the  islands  the 
civil  offices  are  occupied  by  military  officers.  The 
Central  Government  is  composed  of  the  Governor 
General,  and  eight  commissioners,  four  of  whom 
are  Americans  and  four  Filipinos.  This  Com- 
mission is  the  upper  house  of  the  Philippine  Leg- 
islature, the  lower  house  being  the  Philippine  As- 
sembly, elected  by  the  people  and  composed  at 
present  entirely  of  Filipinos.  This  legislature 
has  general  legislative  authority  in  the  islands, 
except  over  that  part  inhabited  by  Moros  or  other 
non-Christian  tribes,  over  which  the  Philippine 
Commission  has  sole  legislative  authority.  The 
legislature  elects  two  Resident  Commissioners  to 
the  United  States,  who  have  seats  in  Congress. 
The  United  States  has  gradually  extended  to  the 
people  of  the  Philippine  Islands  such  participa- 
tion in  the  government  of  the  islands  as  they  have 
shown  themselves  able  intelligently  to  exercise. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  session  of  the  Philip- 
pine Legislature,  the  Governor  General  sends  a 
message  to  that  body,  which  corresponds  to  the 
message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
Congress,  concerning  finances,  pending  matters, 
and  desired  legislation.  A  summer  capital  is  be- 
ing built  at  Baguio,  such  as  that  at  Simla,  India. 
All  progressive  tropical  countries  maintain  a  re- 


OUR  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       237 

sort  at  an  altitude  which  insures  a  cool  and  re- 
cuperative climate  to  which  the  offices  of  the 
Government  may  be  temporarily  removed  during 
the  heated  season,  which  is  beneficial  not  only  to 
those  suffering  from  disease,  but  also  to  those  en- 
joying good  health.  Construction  on  the  Gov- 
ernment buildings  was  started  in  1909  and  has 
continued  as  rapidly  as  the  finances  of  the  Philip- 
pines would  permit.  The  other  improvements 
include  a  large  number  of  cottages  and  two  large 
dormitories.  With  the  extension  of  the  railroad 
into  Baguio,  now  contracted  for,  the  value  of  Ba- 
guio  will  be  greatly  enhanced  to  the  Filipinos. 
It  is  one  of  the  possibilities  of  the  future  that  a 
university  may  be  built  there. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Philippine  Commis- 
sion makes  a  number  of  recommendations  to  Con- 
gress respecting  enabling  legislation  which  it 
deems  necessary  for  the  islands,  and  the  Gover- 
nor General  in  his  annual  message  to  the  legis- 
lature calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  Manila  is 
one  of  the  few  large  cities  of  the  world  of  great 
importance  which  has  no  gas  plant  and  recom- 
mends that  the  legislature  grant  a  properly 
guarded  franchise  to  parties  who,  he  understands, 
are  ready  to  construct  such  a  plant. 

The  Governor  General  has  oversight  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  all  public  affairs  in  the  islands. 
He  has  under  his  executive  control  and  super- 
vision the  Executive  Bureau,  the  Bureau  of  Aud- 
its, the  Bureau  of  Civil  Service,  as  well  as  the 


^38     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

provincial  and  municipal  governments,  including 
the  city  of  Manila.  He  has  the  power  of  parole 
and  pardon,  may  change  the  boundary  of  any 
province,  municipality,  or  other  political  subdi- 
vision, and  may  close  or  open  certain  ports  of 
entry. 

One  of  the  chief  officials  directly  under  the  Gov- 
ernor General  is  the  executive  secretary,  who  has 
duties  assigned  to  him  which  are  combined  in  no 
one  official  in  our  Government.  The  executive 
control  vested  in  the  Central  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  over  provincial  and  municipal 
governments  is  exercised  directly  by  the  Gov- 
ernor General  through  the  executive  secretary. 
He  also  conducts  much  of  the  correspondence  of 
the  Governor  General  in  his  name. 

The  man  who  has  some  of  the  most  arduous 
work  of  the  whole  governmental  service  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  is  the  secretary  of  the  interior. 
One  of  the  problems  which  confronts  him  is  that 
of  control  over  and  development  of  the  more  or 
less  uncivilized  tribes,  all  of  which  widely  differ 
in  customs,  dialect,  and  pursuits,  and  even  in  race. 
"With  more  than  half  a  million  of  these  people, 
many  of  whom  formerly  practiced  head-hunting 
and  had  little  respect  for  justice  or  right  as  it 
was  practiced  on  them,  the  problem  of  winning 
their  friendship  and  cooperation  has  been  a  most 
difficult  one.  Until  the  advent  of  the  Americans, 
these  people  were  exploited  commercially  by  the 
Spaniards  and  more  intelligent  Filipinos,  but  un- 


OUR  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       239 

der  the  present  form  of  civil  government  they 
have  come  to  look  upon  the  Americans  with  gen- 
nine  regard  as  friends  who  will  protect  them  in 
their  rights  as  well  as  sternly  punish  them  when 
they  offend.  Through  this  means  of  attraction, 
impartial  justice,  and  the  gradual  growth  of  confi- 
dence, the  American  influence  is  being  extended 
farther  and  farther  into  the  hitherto  trackless 
and  inaccessible  regions,  bringing  more  and  more 
of  them  into  peaceful  occupations,  and  lessening 
every  day  the  depredations  and  intertribal  con- 
flicts of  the  past.  The  sharply  drawn  tribal  lines 
of  old  are  disappearing,  and  Igorots,  Ifugaos, 
and  Kalingas  now  visit  each  other's  territory  in 
peace  and  meet  in  friendly  contests  of  strength 
and  skill.  The  practice  of  head-hunting  as  a 
method  of  settling  quarrels  or  gaining  prestige 
is  lessening,  and  the  use  of  the  courts  and  ap- 
peals to  the  American  governor  are  becoming 
more  and  more  the  method  of  settling  disputes. 
In  many  instances,  these  people  are  being  success- 
fully employed  to  police  their  own  country.  Un- 
speakably filthy  towns  have  been  made  clean  and 
sanitary,  and  they  are  learning  to  come  to  a  phy- 
sician when  injured  or  ill. 

The  Filipinos  feel  that  they  ought  to  be  per- 
mitted to  govern  the  uncivilized  tribes.  The 
Americans  reply  to  this  by  saying  that  there  is 
no  basis  for  this  claim,  either  in  justice  or  ex- 
pediency, and  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that 
wherever  the  people  of  these  tribes  have  been  un- 


240     .THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

der  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  Filipino  govern- 
ment, they  have  not  been  protected  in  their  rights 
or  helped  to  a  higher  plane  of  human  existence. 
These  tribes  even  hint  at  offering  armed  resis- 
tance to  any  attempt  to  take  them  from  under 
the  direct  supervision  and  control  of  the  Ameri- 
can officials. 

The  Interior  Department  of  the  Philippines 
covers  a  large  range  of  activity.  One  of  the  bu- 
reaus under  its  charge  is  that  of  Health.  It 
operates  the  Philippine  General  Hospital,  the 
civil  hospital,  and  a  number  of  other  hospitals 
throughout  the  Archipelago.  It  is  now  engaged 
in  using  the  moving-picture  show  as  a  method  of 
bringing  a  knowledge  of  the  necessity  of  sanitary 
surroundings  to  the  people  of  the  Philippines. 
It  is  also  engaged  in  taking  care  of  the  public 
cemeteries  of  the  islands,  by  enforcing  regulations 
with  reference  to  their  establishment  and  proper 
maintenance.  Under  these  regulations  one  no 
longer  sees  in  the  Provinces  a  local  cemetery  as- 
suming the  form  of  a  tropical  jungle  partially  in- 
closed by  broken  fences  which  permit  hogs  and 
dogs  to  despoil  the  shallow  graves  of  the  dead. 
The  Bureau  of  Health  also  maintains  free  dis- 
pensaries, and  otherwise  looks  after  the  health 
of  the  people. 

Owing  to  incomplete  returns,  vital  statistics 
are  yet  restricted  to  Manila.  The  death  rate  per 
thousand  among  Filipinos  in  Manila  is  very  high, 
being  47.65  for  1910,  as  against  12.05  for  Span- 


OUR  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       241 

iards,  13.27  for  Americans,  14.32  for  other  occi- 
dentals, and  16.64  for  Chinese.  Two-thirds  of 
this  shocking  Filipino  mortality  is  among  chil- 
dren of  less  than  5  years  of  age,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  remarkably  high  birth  rate  they  would 
eventually  die  out.  In  Manila  nearly  50  chil- 
dren to  every  thousand  of  population  are  born  an- 
nually. While  complete  and  fairly  reliable  vital 
statistics  are  not  yet  available  for  the  Philippine 
Islands  as  a  whole,  the  facts  relative  to  Govern- 
ment employees  are  definitely  known.  The  death 
rate  among  them  for  the  fiscal  year  1910  was  but 
5.82  per  thousand.  Insurance  companies  now 
write  insurance  for  residents  of  these  islands  on 
the  same  terms  as  they  would  give  them  in  the 
United  States. 

Cholera  epidemics  in  the  Philippines  are  grow- 
ing fewer  each  year,  and  leprosy  is  being  rapidly 
wiped  out.  The  total  number  of  lepers  in  the 
islands  to-day  is  placed  at  2,272,  as  against  ap- 
proximately 4,700  when  the  work  of  segregating 
them  began.  The  bureau  maintains  a  leper  col- 
ony on  an  isolated  island,  in  which  the  patients 
are  given  all  possible  liberty  and  diversion,  and 
every  possible  effort  is  being  made  to  find  some 
method  of  successfully  treating  this  dread  disease. 
The  real  plague  of  the  Philippines  is  said  to  be 
tuberculosis,  and  a  widespread  campaign  is  being 
instituted  to  put  an  end  to  its  ravages.  A  Ma- 
rine Quarantine  Service  is  also  maintained  under 
the  direction  of  the  Interior  Department,  as  are 


242     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNIMENT 

also  a  Forestry  Service,  a  Bureau  of  Science,  a 
"Weather  Bureau,  and  a  Bureau  of  Lands. 

Millions  of  acres  of  public  lands  are  subject 
to  homesteading  in  the  Philippines,  but  the  home- 
steads taken  up  amount  to  less  than  2,000  a  year. 
One  of  the  principal  ailments  of  the  Philippines 
in  an  economic  sense  is  that  they  are  "land  poor." 
Under  the  legislation  now  existing,  no  individual 
may  homestead  or  purchase  more  than  40  acres 
of  public  land  from  the  Government.  The  aver- 
age area  of  all  applications  for  free  patents  re- 
ceived is  only  approximately  8  acres.  A  corpora- 
tion may  now  purchase  not  more  than  2,500  acres 
of  public  land.  The  commission  has  recommended 
to  Congress  that  the  limit  for  homesteading  be 
increased  to  125  acres,  and  that  the  limit  pur- 
chasable by  an  individual  be  increased  to  1,250 
acres,  and  by  a  corporation  be  increased  to  15,000 
acres,  in  order  to  encourage  the  establishment  of 
large  plantations  with  modern  equipment  and 
permit  the  development  of  the  country. 

Another  of  the  departments  of  the  Philippine 
Government  is  that  of  Commerce  and  Police.  It 
has  supervision  over  the  bureaus  of  Constabulary, 
Pubhc  Works,  Navigation,  Posts,  Coast  and  Geo- 
detic Survey,  and  Labor,  and  the  offices  of  Con- 
sulting Architect  and  the  Supervising  Railway 
Expert  In  addition  to  this,  it  is  charged  with 
the  general  supervision  of  all  corporations  other 
than  building  and  loan  associations,  banks,  and 
trust  companies. 


OUR  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       243 

The  Philippine  Constabulary  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  bodies  of  police  in  the  world.  A  large 
number  of  men  who  constitute  the  constabulary 
were  head-hunting  savages  only  a  few  years  ago. 
They  are  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  United  States, 
and  are  of  iiomense  aid  to  the  American  Gov- 
ernment in  maintaining  peace  and  prosperity  in 
the  islands. 

A  postal-savings  bank  and  an  insular  telegraph 
and  cable  system  are  maintained  in  connection 
with  the  postal  service  of  the  islands.  The  postal- 
savings  bank  had  13,000  active  accounts  in  1910, 
and  the  number  of  depositors  is  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  over  4,000  a  year.  Nearly  two-thirds  of 
the  depositors  are  Filipinos. 

The  Bureau  of  Public  Works  awards  large 
prizes  to  the  Provinces  maintaining  the  best  road 
systems.  A  prize  of  $5,000  is  awarded  to  the 
Province  having  the  best  maintained  and  most 
complete  system  of  first-class  roads,  and  a  similar 
prize  is  given  for  the  second-class  roads  and  for 
the  greatest  expenditure  for  roads  and  bridges 
proportionate  to  revenue  receipts. 

The  Department  of  Finance  and  Justice  has 
charge  of  the  courts,  the  enforcement  of  the  law, 
the  collection  of  internal  revenue  and  of  cus- 
toms receipts,  together  with  the  other  financial 
operations  of  the  islands. 

The  Department  of  Public  Instruction  is  train- 
ing the  Filipinos  to  use  the  English  language.  A 
larger  proportion  of  the  population  is  now  speak- 


244     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ing  English  than  were  speaking  Spanish  at  the 
time  the  Americans  entered  the  islands.  The  Bu- 
reau of  Agriculture  and  the  prison  administration 
are  also  under  the  direction  of  the  Department 
of  Public  Instruction.  Bilibid  Prison,  at  Manila, 
is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world.  It  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  progressive  prisons  possessed 
by  any  country. 

A  penal  colony  is  maintained  on  a  reservation 
of  360  square  miles  on  the  island  of  Palawan,  in 
the  south,  where  there  are  about  1,000  convicts, 
many  of  whom  have  their  wives  with  them.  Fire- 
arms are  not  permitted  on  the  reservation,  and 
there  are  no  guards,  jails,  or  prisons,  yet  peace 
and  order  are  maintained  as  satisfactorily  as  in 
any  ordinary  community.  These  convicts  have 
a  sort  of  government  of  their  own  and  are  given 
considerable  liberty,  being  permitted  to  engage  in 
agriculture  and  other  pursuits.  Almost  without 
exception  they  have  not  abused  the  liberties  given 
them. 

All  of  the  various  services  in  connection  with 
the  conduct  of  the  Government  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  are  paid  for  entirely  out  of  Philippine 
revenues. 

The  island  of  Porto  Rico  is  another  possession 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  governed  by  a  gover- 
nor appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  legislature  which  consists  of  two 
houses,  one  elected  by  the  people  and  the  other 
appointed  by  authority  of  the  President.    It  has 


OUE  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       245 

a  Resident  Commissioner  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States. 

The  island  is  prospering  under  the  form  of 
government  which  it  has  been  given,  but  at  the 
same  time  the  people  are  dissatisfied  with  their 
political  status.  They  are  very  anxious  to  have 
the  Executive  Council,  which  constitutes  the  up- 
per branch  of  the  legislature,  abolished,  and  an 
elective  senate  substituted  in  its  place.  They  also 
feel  that  they  are  entitled  to  become  full-fledged 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  insist  that  their 
form  of  government  shall  be  so  changed  that  the 
executive  branch  is  entirely  divorced  from  partici- 
pation in  the  affairs  of  the  legislative  branch. 
The  expenses  incident  to  conducting  the  Govern- 
ment of  Porto  Rico  are  borne  entirely  from  Porto 
Rican  revenues. 

The  Philippines  are  not  the  only  islands  in  the 
Orient  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States. 
The  island  of  Guam,  with  a  population  of  nearly 
12,000,  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Spain, 
and  is  used  as  a  naval  station.  The  commandant 
of  the  naval  station  is  also  governor  of  the  island. 
It  has  a  circuit  court,  an  island  court,  and  a  court 
of  appeals.  The  Spanish  colonial  laws  are  in 
force  in  Guam,  except  as  they  are  modified  by 
executive  orders  issued  by  the  governor.  A  com- 
pulsory school  system  is  now  in  operation,  and 
the  children  are  being  taught  the  English  lan- 
guage, carpentry,  and  other  handicrafts. 

The  United  States  also  owns  those  of  the  Sa- 


240     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

moan  Islands  which  lie  east  of  longitude  171° 
west.  The  commandant  of  the  naval  station  at 
Pago  Pago  is  governor  of  the  islands  and  has 
power  to  appoint  officers  and  frame  laws  or  ordi- 
nances, but  native  customs  which  are  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  laws  of  the  United  States  are 
not  changed  without  the  consent  of  the  people. 
The  natives  have  very  little  money,  so  they  usu- 
ally pay  their  taxes  in  trade. 

Hawaii,  now  a  Territory  of  the  United  States, 
formerly  known  as  the  Sandwich  Islands,  sustains 
a  different  relation  toward  the  United  States  from 
that  of  the  other  insular  possessions.  This  comes 
about  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  islands  were 
annexed  by  Congress,  and  are  as  much  a  part  of 
the  country  as  is  Alaska,  or  as  Arizona  or  New 
Mexico  ever  have  been.  The  Philippines,  Porto 
Rico,  and  the  other  islands  are  simply  possessions 
of  the  United  States ;  Hawaii  is  a  part  of  it.  The 
Territory  has  a  legislature  of  two  houses — a  sen- 
ate of  15  members  elected  for  four  years,  and  a 
house  of  representatives  of  30  members  elected 
for  two  years.  The  people  have  a  chance  to  gov- 
ern themselves  in  a  large  measure.  In  1910  they 
held  a  prohibition  election  which  went  wet,  3  to  1. 

Forestry  is  carried  on  in  Hawaii,  and  bulletins 
of  instructions  printed  in  English  and  Hawaiian 
in  regard  to  planting  and  caring  for  fruit  trees 
are  distributed  among  the  people.  The  second 
Friday  of  November  in  each  year  is  set  apart  as 
Arbor  Day,  and  it  is  said  that  the  young  Hawaiian 


OUR  INSULAR  POSSESSIONS       247 

is  as  much  of  a  forest  enthusiast  as  any  other 
young  American.  A  Federal  experiment  station 
is  maintained  in  Hawaii,  and  experiments  of  all 
kinds  with  reference  to  Hawaiian  products  are 
being  made.  It  is  probable  that  one  of  the  out- 
comes of  the  work  of  the  experiment  station  will 
result  in  the  establishment  of  many  cotton  planta- 
tions. In  one  locality  an  acre  of  sea-island  cotton 
planted  on  coral  limestone  soil  yielded  an  average 
of  700  bolls  per  plant  within  six  months. 

The  investigations  with  reference  to  leprosy 
which  are  being  carried  on  in  Hawaii  are  among 
the  most  remarkable  yet  attempted.  They  have 
shown  that  the  mosquito  plays  no  part  in  the 
transmission  of  the  disease,  but  that,  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  the  fly  conveys  the  germ  in  large 
numbers.  It  has  also  been  sho^vn  that  heredity 
is  not  a  factor  in  its  spread,  and  that  it  can  not 
be  received  except  by  infection.  The  experi- 
menters are  now  trying  to  find  a  vaccine  to  be 
used  in  the  treatment  of  the  disease.  There  are 
yellow-fever  mosquitoes  on  the  islands,  but  none 
of  these  are  able  to  do  any  damage  so  long  as 
yellow-fever  is  kept  out.  The  malarial  mosquito 
has  never  been  introduced,  consequently  malaria 
is  unknown  in  the  islands. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

HOW   CONGRESS   LEGISLATES. 

The  procedure  by  whicli  the  two  Houses  of 
Congress  take  up  the  45,000  bills  introduced  by 
their  Members,  select  from  them  the  ideas  which 
are  to  be  incorporated  into  law,  and  work  them 
over  into  perfected  legislation,  is  most  involved 
and  complicated,  but  nothing  is  left  undone  to  in- 
sure the  successful  operation  of  the  legislative 
machine  at  all  stages.  The  misplacement  of  a 
comma  may  involve  the  constitutionality  of  a  law 
or  change  the  purpose  of  a  million-dollar  appro- 
priation. 

It  is  evident  that  comparatively  few  of  the  bills 
which  are  introduced  during  the  life  of  a  single 
Congress  have  any  chance  of  being  enacted  into 
legislation  or  even  of  being  considered  by  the  two 
Houses.  If  only  four  minutes  were  given  to  the 
consideration  of  each  of  the  bills  introduced,  it 
would  require  Congress  to  stay  in  session  300 
days  in  the  year  to  dispose  of  them  all. 

This  discloses  the  reason  why  the  House  and 
the  Senate  must  be  subdivided  into  committees 
which  can  consider  these  matters  and  report  their 
conclusions  to  their  respective  bodies.    Sometimes 

248 


HOW  CONGRESS  LEGISLATES      249 

the  action  of  a  committee  may  be  reversed,  but 
this  is  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  In 
order  for  the  reader  to  get  a  proper  idea  of  the 
operation  of  the  legislative  machine  in  the  taking 
of  a  bill  introduced  by  a  Member  and  working 
it  over  into  a  Federal  statute,  let  us  take  an  ac- 
tual bill  and  follow  it  through  all  of  its  stages, 
from  its  introduction  to  its  approval  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  its  enshrinement  as  a  law. 

On  March  23,  1909,  Representative  John  J. 
Esch,  of  Wisconsin,  introduced  a  bill  requiring 
railroads  and  other  common  carriers  engaged  in 
interstate  and  foreign  commerce  to  make  full  re- 
ports of  all  accidents  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission,  and  authorizing  investigations  there- 
of by  the  Commission.  He  placed  this  bill,  with 
many  others,  in  what  is  known  as  the  ''hopper" 
of  the  House,  a  large  basket  in  which  Members 
place  all  bills  which  they  introduce.  The  Par- 
liamentary Clerk  at  the  Speaker's  table,  acting 
in  behalf  of  the  Speaker,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  the  House,  w^rote  on  the  bill  a  state- 
ment referring  it  to  the  Committee  on  Interstate 
and  Foreign  Commerce.  The  bill  was  then  sent 
to  the  Journal  Clerk  and  other  clerks  of  the 
House,  where  records  of  its  introduction  were 
made.  At  this  stage  of  the  journey  the  newspaper 
men  had  an  opportunity  to  read  it  and  to  report 
it  to  their  papers. 

After  the  House  records  of  the  introduction 
of  the  bill  were  completed,  it  was  sent  to  the 


250     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Government  Printing  Office,  and  625  copies  of  it 
were  printed.  These  copies  were  deposited  in  the 
document  room,  where  files  of  all  bills  are  kept. 
Two  copies  of  the  bill  were  delivered  to  the  bill 
clerks  of  the  two  Houses,  and  two  copies  to  the 
distributing  clerk,  one  of  them  going  to  the  com- 
mittee to  which  the  bill  was  referred. 

The  Committee  on  Interstate  and  Foreign  Com- 
merce holds  frequent  meetings,  and  at  one  of  these 
meetings  it  considered  this  bill.  In  the  considera- 
tion of  the  bill  the  committee  decided  that  it 
ought  to  be  amended,  and  by  a  majority  vote  an 
amendment  was  adopted. 

On  December  14,  1909,  the  committee  voted  to 
report  the  measure  to  the  House  with  its  amend- 
ment and  to  recommend  its  passage.  When  the 
hour  for  making  committee  reports  arrived,  Mr. 
Esch  announced  that  his  committee,  having  con- 
sidered the  bill,  had  decided  to  report  it  favorably 
with  amendment,  and  that  it  was  accompanied  by 
a  written  report  of  the  committee.  Thereupon, 
the  Speaker  ordered  the  bill  and  the  report  re- 
ferred to  the  House  Calendar. 

It  then  went  on  another  trip  through  the  hands 
of  the  recording  clerks  of  the  House,  and  was 
sent  to  the  Government  Printing  Office,  where 
1,000  copies  of  the  bill  and  report  were  printed. 
On  the  following  day,  which  was  kno^vn  as  Calen- 
dar Wednesday,  the  Speaker  directed  the  call  of 
committees,  and  when  the  Committee  on  Interstate 
and  Foreign  Commerce  was  reached,  Representa- 


HOW  CONGRESS  LEGISLATES      251 

tive  James  Mann  called  up  this  bill  from  the 
House  Calendar,  he  being  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

The  Speaker  announced  that  the  Clerk  would 
report  the  bill.  This  meant  that  the  Clerk  would 
read  the  bill  in  full,  together  with  the  amendment 
proposed  by  the  committee.  Thereupon,  Mr. 
Mann  announced  that  he  would  yield  to  Mr.  Esch 
such  time  as  he  required  to  discuss  the  provisions 
of  the  bill  and  the  amendment  made  by  the  com- 
mittee. Each  side  of  the  House,  Republican  and 
Democratic,  is  given  an  equal  length  of  time  in 
which  to  debate  any  bill,  when  the  pending  mat- 
ter is  a  party  question;  when  it  is  not  a  party 
question,  the  proponents  and  opponents  of  the 
measure  divide  the  time  for  debate  equally.  After 
the  Esch  bill  was  debated,  the  question  was  taken 
on  its  passage,  and  there  being  no  strenuous  oppo- 
sition to  it,  it  was  passed  without  division. 

The  Clerk  of  the  House  thereupon  certified  that 
the  measure  had  passed  the  House,  and  again  it 
went  through  the  process  of  being  recorded  and 
printed,  and  a  certified  copy  was  carried  by  the 
Clerk  of  the  House  to  the  Senate  Chamber.  Upon 
entering  the  Senate  Chamber,  the  Sergeant  at 
Arms  of  the  Senate  announced  to  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent the  arrival  of  a  message  from  the  House. 
Upon  being  recognized,  the  House  Clerk  stated 
to  the  Senate  that  he  had  been  directed  to  an- 
nounce that  the  House  had  passed  this  bill. 
Thereupon  the  Vice  President  took  the  bill  and 


252     ITHE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

referred  it  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Interstate 
Commerce. 

When  the  Senate  Committee  on  Interstate  Com- 
merce received  the  bill,  its  clerk  sent  notices  to 
the  various  members  of  the  committee  that  a 
meeting  would  be  held  for  the  consideration  of 
this  and  other  measures.  When  the  meeting  was 
held,  the  members  gathered  around  a  long  table, 
seated  in  the  order  of  the  length  of  their  service 
on  the  committee,  the  chairman  at  the  head  of 
the  table.  They  discussed  the  measure  and  de- 
cided to  amend  it  so  as  to  make  it  differ  from  the 
bill  which  passed  the  House.  Later,  on  February 
18,  1910,  Senator  Cullom  reported  the  bill  to  the 
Senate  with  the  amendments  the  committee  had 
added,  and  with  a  report  from  the  committee 
thereon.  On  February  23  the  bill  was  taken  from 
the  calendar  and  consideration  of  it  begun.  There- 
upon Senator  Aldrich  declared  that  there  were 
some  changes  which  ought  to  be  made  and  re- 
quested that  it  be  referred  back  to  the  committee 
for  further  consideration.  The  Vice  President 
called  for  a  vote  on  that  proposition,  and  it  was 
so  referred. 

The  committee  reported  it  back  to  the  Senate 
with  further  amendments  on  March  15.  On  March 
21  the  bill  was  brought  up  before  the  Senate,  and 
was  debated  by  that  body,  sitting  as  a  Committee 
of  the  Whole.  The  various  Members  of  the  Sen- 
ate discussed  it,  and  then  postponed  further  con- 
sideration because  of  the  absence  of  Senator  Cul- 


A  VIEW  IN  WASHINGTON. 


HOW  CONGRESS  LEGISLATES      253 

lorn.  On  April  7  Senator  Cullom  asked  nnani- 
mous  consent  that  the  bill  be  taken  up  for  consid- 
eration, and  the  Senate,  sitting  as  a  Committee 
of  the  Whole,  resumed  consideration  of  the  meas- 
ure. Senator  Heyburn  had  objected  to  a  certain 
passage  in  it  and  upon  this  objection  Senator  Cul- 
lom moved  that  the  passage  be  stricken  from  the 
measure.  This  was  agreed  to.  Then  Senator 
Cullom  moved  another  amendment  to  make  the 
measure  effective  60  days  after  its  passage.  This 
amendment  also  was  carried.  Then  the  Commit- 
tee of  the  Whole  was  through  with  its  work  and 
reported  the  bill  to  the  Senate  as  amended.  The 
Senate  thereupon  ordered  the  amendment  to  be 
engrossed  and  the  bill  to  be  read  a  third  time. 
The  Reading  Clerk  then  read  out  the  title  of  the 
bill,  and  the  Senate  passed  it  without  division. 

Then  the  measure  was  printed  again  as  passed 
by  the  Senate,  and  its  Clerk  carried  a  certified 
copy  of  the  amended  measure  back  to  the  House 
with  the  announcement  to  that  body  that  he  was 
directed  to  announce  that  the  Senate  had  passed 
the  bill  with  amendments.  On  April  9  the 
Speaker  laid  before  the  House  the  bill  with  the 
Senate  amendments,  and  a  motion  was  made  that 
the  Senate  amendments  be  disagreed  to  and  that 
the  House  ask  for  a  conference.  This  motion  pre- 
vailed and  the  Speaker  appointed  the  two  senior 
Republican  members  and  the  senior  Democratic 
member  of  the  House  Committee  on  Interstate 
and  Foreign  Commerce  as  conferees  on  the  part 


254     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

of  the  House.  Then  the  Clerk  of  the  House  went 
back  to  the  Senate  and  informed  that  body  that 
the  House  had  disagreed  to  the  Senate  amend- 
ments and  desired  a  conference  with  the  Senate 
on  the  disagreeing  votes  of  the  two  Houses.  The 
Senate  thereupon  voted  to  insist  upon  its  amend- 
ments and  agreed  to  a  conference,  and  the  Vice 
President  appointed  Senators  Cullom,  Aldrich, 
and  Foster  as  conferees  on  the  part  of  the  Senate. 
They  thereupon  met  with  the  conferees  from  the 
House,  and  smoothed  out  and  compromised  the 
differences  between  the  two  bodies  upon  this  bill. 
They  then  drew  up  a  conference  report,  which 
was  presented  in  the  Senate  and  the  House,  and 
both  bodies  agreed  to  it. 

Thereupon  the  completed  measure  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Enrolled  Bills,  which  ex- 
amined it  and  reported  to  the  Speaker  that  it  had 
found  it  truly  enrolled,  after  which  the  Speaker 
signed  it  and  sent  it  to  the  Senate  with  the  an- 
nouncement that  he  had  done  so.  Then  the  Vice 
President  signed  it  and  then  the  Committee  on 
Enrolled  Bills  sent  it  by  messenger  to  the  Presi- 
dent, who  approved  it  with  his  signature,  and 
announced  to  the  Senate  and  House  that  he  had 
done  so,  through  a  message  in  writing  borne  to 
those  bodies  by  one  of  his  secretaries. 

Of  course  there  are  many  variations  in  the  pro- 
cedure of  carrying  a  measure  through  Congress 
from  the  introduced  bill  to  the  approved  law.  It 
happens  in  many  instances  that  the  bill  comes  out 


HOW  CONGRESS  LEGISLATES      255 

of  the  committee  having  it  under  consideration 
without  amendment,  passes  the  House  without 
amendment,  goes  to  the  Senate,  and  is  there  re- 
ported by  the  committee  without  amendment  and 
is  accepted  in  its  original  form  by  the  Senate.  In 
such  cases,  no  conference  committees  are  ap- 
pointed, and  the  act  goes  to  the  President  in  its 
original  shape.  In  other  cases  the  Senate  origi- 
nates the  bill  and  passes  it  and  allows  the  House 
to  follow  its  lead.  Each  branch  has  equal  author- 
ity in  the  origination  of  legislation  except  that  the 
Constitution  gives  the  House  the  exclusive  right 
to  originate  revenue  measures. 

Another  exception  has  growm  up  in  the  practice 
of  allowing  all  of  the  big  appropriation  bills  to 
originate  in  the  House.  When  one  of  the  big  ap- 
propriation bills  is  being  prepared,  the  officials 
of  the  Government,  with  whose  activities  the  bill 
is  concerned,  are  heard  by  the  committee  having 
the  measure  in  charge.  Most  of  these  measures 
are  prepared  by  the  House  Committee  on  Appro- 
priations, although  some  of  them  are  prepared 
by  other  committees.  The  hearings,  under  which 
the  appropriations  are  recommended  by  the  com- 
mittee, are  printed  for  the  information  of  both 
branches  of  Congress,  so  that  every  Member  shall 
be  able  to  inform  himself  upon  them.  After  the 
committee  makes  its  report,  the  bill  is  placed  on 
the  calendar,  and  at  the  proper  time  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  arises,  addresses  the  Speaker, 
and  makes  a  motion  that  the  House  go  into  the 


256     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Committee  of  the  "Whole  House  on  the  state  of 
the  Union  for  the  consideration  of  bill  numbered 
so-and-so,  making  such-and-such  appropriations. 
The  motion  for  the  House  to  go  into  Committee 
of  the  Whole  is  put  and  agreed  to.  Thereupon 
the  Speaker  calls  some  member  of  the  majority 
to  the  chair,  turns  the  gavel  over  to  him  and 
retires.  Also,  the  mace,  which  is  the  emblem  of 
the  authority  of  the  House,  is  taken  from  its 
pedestal  and  free  debate  is  begun. 

It  is  while  the  House  is  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union  that  the  Mem- 
bers talk  upon  all  topics  under  the  sun,  more  fre- 
quently than  not  germane  to  anything  else  than 
the  pending  bill.  The  Presiding  Officer  is  no 
longer  addressed  as  ''Mr.  Speaker,"  but  as  ''Mr. 
Chairman."  After  debate  has  continued  until 
time  for  adjournment  or  until  other  matters  claim 
the  attention  of  the  House,  the  Representative  in 
charge  of  the  bill  addresses  the  chair  and  moves 
that  the  committee  rise.  Thereupon  the  Speaker 
returns  and  takes  the  chair.  The  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Whole  then  addresses  him 
and  announces  that  the  committee,  having  had 
under  consideration  the  pending  bill,  has  come  to 
no  resolution  thereon.  This  process  is  repeated 
from  day  to  day  until  the  consideration  of  the  bill 
is  completed. 

A  motion  is  then  made  that  the  committee  rise 
and  report  the  bill  with  such  amendments  as  have 
been  decided  on,  with  the  recommendation  that  the 


HOW  CONGRESS  LEGISLATES      257 

House  pass  it.  The  committee  thereupon  rises, 
the  Speaker  resumes  the  chair  and  the  Chairman 
reports  the  recommendation  of  the  committee.  If 
a  separate  vote  is  not  demanded  upon  each  amend- 
ment they  are  all  voted  on  at  once,  the  Chairman, 
demands  the  previous  question  upon  his  motion 
that  the  bill  shall  pass,  and  if  that  motion  pre- 
vails, no  further  debate  is  in  order.  Procedure 
in  the  Senate  is  in  large  measure  the  same,  with 
the  exception  that  the  previous  question,  cutting 
off  further  debate,  is  never  in  order.  Oftentimes, 
in  fact  usually,  each  House  puts  certain  provi- 
sions into  a  bill  which  it  does  not  expect  the  other 
House  to  approve,  but  which  it  thinks  will  serve 
a  good  purpose  in  negotiating  compromises  which 
are  necessary  before  the  disagreements  of  the 
Senate  and  House  can  be  adjusted. 

On  questions  involving  political  considerations 
there  are  occasions  when  every  sort  of  strategem 
known  to  parliamentary  law  is  resorted  to  both 
in  the  House  and  Senate.  The  rules  of  the  two 
Houses  are  full  and  complete,  and  the  Senator 
or  Representative  who  would  make  the  most  of  the 
parliamentary  situation  when  a  great  political 
battle  is  being  fought  over  pending  legislation, 
must  be  a  master  of  parliamentary  usages  in  gen- 
eral and  the  rules  of  the  body  of  which  he  is  a 
member  in  particular.  There  are  three  ways  in. 
the  Senate  to  get  a  matter  before  that  body.  One 
is  by  unanimous  consent,  the  second  by  making  it 
a  special  order,  which  requires  two-thirds  vote, 


258     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

and  tlie  third  is  by  taking  it  up  in  its  due  course 
on  the  calendar.  In  the  House  there  are  three 
calendars,  one  known  as  the  Union  Calendar,  the 
second  as  the  Unanimous  Consent  Calendar,  and 
the  third  as  the  House  Calendar.  It  is  much 
easier  to  get  a  matter  through  the  Senate  on  an 
appeal  for  unanimous  consent  than  through  the 
House.  The  rules  of  the  House  enable  the  ma- 
jority, as  long  as  it  can  hold  its  forces  together, 
to  pass  or  defeat  any  measure  without  much  dif- 
ficulty. 

Less  than  one-fiftieth  of  the  bills  introduced  in 
Congress  ever  reach  the  stage  of  enactment  in 
law.  A  larger  proportion  of  bills  for  the  relief 
of  individuals  are  passed  than  those  of  a  public 
nature.  Only  a  few  hundred  public  laws  are 
passed  by  a  single  Congress,  If  every  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  which  has  been  proposed 
in  the  last  10  years  had  been  approved  by  Con- 
gress and  ratified  by  the  States  no  one  important 
provision  of  that  ancient  document  would  be  now 
effective.  In  three  weeks  at  the  beginning  of  the 
first  session  of  a  Congress  joint  resolutions  were 
introduced  which  would  have  postmasters  and 
Federal  judges  elected  by  the  people,  the  ancient 
punishment  of  civil  ostracism  revived,  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Philippines  declared,  the  prohibi- 
tion of  a  protective  tariff  ordered,  a  censorship 
for  advertisements  created,  the  enacting  power  of 
Congress  taken  away,  and  the  printing  of  market 
quotations  forbidden. 


HOW  CONGEESS  LEGISLATES      259 

The  work  of  Congress  requires  an  adequate 
plant  as  well  as  a  capable  force  of  lawmakers. 
Such  a  plant  is  now  possessed  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  estimated  that  the  group 
of  buildings  which  constitute  the  national  law 
factory  represents  a  total  cost  of  $30,000,000.  The 
Capitol  itself  has  cost,  exclusive  of  repairs,  a  total 
of  $15,000,000.  The  Library  of  Congress  repre- 
sents an  expenditure  of  $7,000,000  more,  while 
the  cost  of  the  Office  Buildings  and  the  heating 
plant  brings  the  total  up  to  more  tkan  $30,000,000. 
The  plant  of  the  British  Parliament  cost  only 
half  as  much,  while  those  of  the  German  Reich- 
stag and  the  French  Parliament  cost  even  less. 
Many  improvements  yet  await  installation.  One 
of  these  is  an  air-cooling  plant  for  keeping  the 
Capitol  cool  in  summer  just  as  a  heating  plant  is 
used  to  keep  it  warm  in  winter.  The  British  Par- 
liament has  installed  an  air-cooling  and  filtration 
plant  in  the  Parliament  buildings. 

The  Office  Buildings  of  the  House  and  Senate 
are  sumptuously,  yet  tastefully,  furnished.  The 
restaurant  plant  in  the  Senate  Office  Building  is 
elaborately  equipped.  The  kitchen  is  fitted  with 
an  electric  dishwasher,  an  electrical  ice  cream 
making  plant,  an  ice  crusher,  and  everything  else 
a  palatial  restaurant  needs.  Both  of  the  Office 
Buildings  are  equipped  with  expensive  baths,  and 
a  Member  may  have  anything  he  wishes  in  the 
way  of  a  bath,  from  a  needle  spray  to  a  seance 
with  a  professional  masseur.    A  large  tank  for  a 


260     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

cold  plunge  is  also  in  use,  and  there  is  nothing  to 
excel  the  congressional  baths  this  side  of  the  per- 
fumed ones  of  Rome  and  Pompeii.  One  begins 
to  realize  the  immensity  of  the  American  legisla- 
tive plant  when  he  is  told  that  the  buildings  con- 
stituting it  contain  some  1,400  rooms  and  some 
40  elevators. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

As  the  branch  of  the  American  Congress  which 
is  closest  to  the  people,  receiving  its  authority  di- 
rectly from  them,  and  going  back  to  them  every 
two  years  to  give  an  account  of  its  stewardship, 
the  House  of  Representatives  stands  as  the  near- 
est approach  to  a  reflection  of  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple that  is  to  be  found  in  the  American  govern- 
mental system.  Senators  are  elected  for  a  term 
of  six  years,  and  are  therefore  less  subject  to  the 
fluctuation  of  public  opinion  than  Representatives. 
The  President  is  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years, 
and  public  opinion  may  swing  as  a  pendulum  to 
one  extreme  and  back  again  before  the  country 
has  a  chance  to  pass  upon  his  administration. 
Only  the  House  reflects  every  change  of  senti- 
ment which  comes  over  the  people. 

The  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Sixty- 
third  Congress  will  be  made  up  of  435  Members, 
not  counting  Delegates  from  the  Territories  and 
Resident  Commissioners  from  the  Philippines  and 
Porto  Rico.  The  membership  of  the  House  is  laxed 
by  Congress.  The  Constitution  provides  for  a  de- 
cennial census  to  determine  the  population  of  each 

261 


262     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

State  in  the  Union,  in  order  to  determine  exactly 
•what  proportion  of  the  total  membership  shall  be 
assigned  to  each  of  the  several  States.  After  the 
census  returns  at  the  beginning  of  each  decade  are 
in  hand,  Congress  takes  up  the  problem  of  deter- 
mining the  size  of  the  House  during  the  10  years 
to  follow.  So  long  as  the  population  of  the  coun- 
try continues  to  grow  as  rapidly  as  it  has  in  the 
past,  it  is  inevitable  that  either  the  number  of 
Members  must  be  largely  increased,  or  else  that 
the  number  of  people  who  shall  constitute  the 
average  congressional  district  shall  be  corre- 
spondingly increased.  To  increase  the  member- 
ship of  the  House  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of 
the  country  would  result  in  that  body  becoming 
so  large  as  to  be  unwieldy.  On  the  other  hand, 
to  maintain  it  at  the  same  number  would  result 
in  such  a  large  increase  in  the  number  of  people 
who  would  constitute  a  congressional  constituency 
that  States  with  slowly  expanding  populations 
would  lose  members,  while  States  with  rapidly 
growing  populations  would  gain  a  corresponding 
number  of  members.  So  Congress  faces  the 
problem  of  determining  upon  a  membership  which 
is  not  excessive  and  a  representation  which  does 
not  too  greatly  cut  down  the  existing  representa- 
tion of  any  State.  Therefore  it  has  nearly  al- 
ways increased  both  the  membership  of  the  House 
and  the  ratio  of  the  population  entitled  to  one 
representation.  For  instance,  the  House  under 
the  apportionment  of  1901  had  a  membership  of 


THE  HOUSE  OF  EEPRESENTATIVES  263 

391,  as  compared  with  the  membership  of  435 
under  the  apportionment  of  1911,  while  the  ratio 
of  population  was  194,182,  under  the  census  of 
1900  as  compared  with  211,877  for  the  census  of 
1910. 

Not  all  congressional  districts  have  the  same 
population  in  practice,  although  theoretically  they 
should  have.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that 
congressional  districts  usually  follow  county  lines, 
to^Ti  lines,  or  ward  lines  in  cities,  so  that  the  pop- 
ulation can  not  therefore  be  divided  with  exact- 
ness. Congress  simply  apportions  representation 
among  the  various  States,  and  allows  each  State 
to  fix  the  limits  of  the  congressional  districts  to 
which  it  is  entitled.  In  fixing  these  lines  the 
State  legislatures  frequently  resort  to  what  is 
known  as  gerrymandering.  That  is,  if  the  Re- 
publicans happen  to  control  the  legislature  of  a 
State  when  a  redistricting  bill  is  pending,  they 
aim  to  crowd  all  of  the  strongly  Democratic  coun- 
ties into  as  few  districts  as  possible,  thus  insur- 
ing Republican  representation  in  the  greatest  pos- 
sible number  of  districts  for  the  decade  ahead. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Democrats  are  in  power, 
they  try  to  crowd  as  many  of  the  Republican 
voters  into  one  district  as  they  can.  This  some- 
times results  in  remarkable  variation  from  the 
ratio  of  representation  fixed  by  Congress.  For 
instance,  under  the  1900  census  the  ratio  was 
194,182.  Yet  in  the  fourteenth  district  of  Penn- 
sylvania there  was  a  population  of  only  146,000, 


264     TIIE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

while  in  the  third  district  there  was  a  population 
of  251,000. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  not  a  continu- 
ing body.  Each  House  dies  with  the  fall  of  the 
Speaker's  gavel  at  noon  on  the  4th  of  March  of 
every  alternate  year.  The  new  Members  are 
elected  in  November  before  the  old  House  dies, 
and  they  go  upon  the  payroll  on  March  4,  the  day 
of  the  death  of  the  old  House.  Except  when  an 
extra  session  of  Congress  is  called,  the  new  Mem- 
bers do  not  begin  their  real  duties  as  legislators 
until  the  first  Monday  of  the  following  December. 

Just  before  a  new  House  of  Representatives  as- 
sembles the  members  of  each  political  party  hold 
a  caucus  to  nominate  candidates  for  the  elective 
officers  of  the  House,  the  Speaker,  Clerk,  Chap- 
lain, Sergeant  at  Arms  and  Doorkeeper.  Of  course 
it  is  known  long  in  advance  which  party  will 
control  the  House  and  elect  its  officers,  and  the 
nominations  made  by  the  other  party  are  merely 
perfunctory. 

When  the  House  convenes  it  is  called  to  order 
by  the  Clerk  of  the  preceding  House,  and  no  other 
business  is  in  order  until  a  Speaker  is  elected. 
Once  the  Clerk  acted  as  presiding  officer  from  the 
first  of  December  to  nearly  the  middle  of  Febru- 
ary, while  the  House  could  do  nothing  but  ballot 
for  Speaker,  none  of  the  political  factions  in  the 
House  being  able  to  muster  a  majority  for  its 
candidate  for  the  Speakership.  When  the  Clerk 
of  the  former  House  calls  the  new  one  to  order, 


THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  265 

the  chairmen  of  the  party  caucuses  nominate  the 
caucus  candidates  for  the  Speakership  and  a  bal- 
lot is  taken  to  determine  which  shall  be  chosen. 
Of  course,  the  candidate  of  the  party  which  has  a 
majority  in  the  House  wins.  A  committee  is 
then  appointed  to  notify  him  of  his  election,  and 
to  escort  him  to  the  Speaker's  chair.  Amid  loud 
and  long  applause,  the  waving  of  thousands  of 
flags,  and  the  click  of  dozens  of  cameras,  he  ac- 
cepts the  gavel  from  the  Clerk,  and  in  a  few 
words  thanks  the  Members  and  pledges  himself  to 
fulfill  the  duties  of  Speaker.  After  this  the  caucus 
chairmen  bring  in  their  respective  resolutions, 
naming  the  minor  elective  officers  of  the  House, 
and,  of  course,  the  resolution  of  the  majority 
party  is  adopted.    The  House  is  then  organized. 

The  next  step  after  the  House  has  chosen  its 
staff  of  officials  is  that  of  holding  the  great  bi- 
ennial lottery  to  determine  the  choice  of  seats  in 
the  House  for  the  Congress  then  beginning.  When 
a  new  Congress  comes  into  being  all  of  its  Mem- 
bers are  supposed  to  be  equal  and  no  Member  is 
entitled  to  advantage  over  others  in  the  choice  of 
seats.  The  names  of  all  the  Members  of  the 
House  are  arranged  alphabetically  and  numbered 
according  to  their  position  on  the  list.  Then  a 
small  page  is  blind-folded  and  told  to  draw  a  ball 
out  of  a  box.  There  are  exactly  as  many  balls  as 
there  are  Members  of  the  House,  and  each  ball 
contains  a  number  corresponding  to  that  of  a 
Member.     An  official  shakes  the  box  and  the  boy 


266     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

draws  out  a  ball  and  hands  it  to  this  ofiQcial.  He 
reads  the  number  on  it,  and  then  refers  to  his 
alphabetical  list.  If  Representative  Smith  is 
320th  on  the  list  and  the  ball  bears  the  number 
320,  Mr.  Smith  gets  first  choice  of  a  seat.  This 
is  continued  all  the  way  down  through  the  list. 
Before  the  drawing  begins,  the  entire  floor  of  the 
House  is  cleared,  the  Members  retiring  to  the 
area  behind  the  railing,  and  going  forward  in  the 
order  their  names  are  called  by  the  officers  con- 
ducting the  drawing.  It  is  usual  to  exempt  for- 
mer Speakers  of  the  House,  a  few  of  the  oldest 
Members,  and  the  chairmen  of  the  Committees  on 
Ways  and  Means,  Rules,  and  Appropriations,  all 
of  these  being  permitted  to  select  their  seats  be- 
fore the  drawing  begins.  The  only  limitation 
upon  the  choice  of  seats  is  that  the  Republicans 
take  one  side  of  the  center  aisle  and  the  Demo- 
crats the  other. 

The  next  question  which  comes  up  is  that  of  a 
code  of  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the  procedure 
of  the  House  during  the  life  of  the  Congress 
then  beginning  its  career.  Each  of  the  two  par- 
ties offers  a  code  of  rules,  usually  that  it  has 
adopted  in  caucus.  For  more  than  a  generation 
after  the  Civil  War  these  rules  gradually  grew 
more  and  more  restrictive,  placing  the  power  of 
the  House  more  and  more  in  the  hands  of  the 
Speaker,  and  giving  greater  and  greater  sting  to 
the  lash  of  the  party  whip.  It  was  always  a 
favorite  assertion  of  former  Speaker  Cannon,  the 


THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  267 

last  of  the  line  of  Republican  Speakers  who 
reigned  in  the  House  from  1895  to  1911,  that  the 
Speaker  was  the  creature  of  the  House,  and  that 
it  could  put  him  out  of  his  position  any  hour  it 
chose  to  do  so.  Yet  he  always  knew  his  party  as- 
sociates would  put  up  with  almost  any  kind  of 
application  of  the  party  lash  rather  than  dethrone 
him.  Theoretically  he  was  absolutely  right ;  prac- 
tically he  was  wholly  wrong. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  rules — and  it  is  al- 
ways made  possible  to  suspend  them  when  politi- 
cal or  other  exigencies  require  it — the  next  ques- 
tion is  the  selection  of  the  committees  of  the 
House.  For  a  century  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
Speaker  to  name  all  of  the  members  of  the  various 
committees.  In  late  years  he  usually  consulted 
the  minority  leader  as  to  the  personnel  of  the  mi- 
nority members  of  the  committees,  but  this  was 
an  unofficial  act  of  grace.  When  the  Democrats 
came  into  power  in  the  Sixty-second  Congress, 
they  decided  that  the  power  to  appoint  commit- 
tees should  be  taken  from  the  Speaker  and  that  all 
standing  committees  should  be  elected  by  the 
House.  The  Democrats  selected  majority  mem- 
bers of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  in  caucus 
and  then  made  them  a  Committee  on  Committees 
for  the  purpose  of  nominating  members  of  the 
standing  committees.  Its  selections  for  the  ma- 
jority representation  on  committees  were  ratified 
by  the  Democratic  caucus.  The  Democratic  ma- 
jority permitted  the  Republican  minority  to  nom- 


268     TliE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

inate  its  representation  in  its  own  way,  and  the 
Republican  caucus  delegated  the  duty  to  the  mi- 
nority leader.  The  nominations  were  then  all  con- 
firmed by  formal  election  in  the  House. 

There  are  56  committees  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. Of  these  perhaps  less  than  half  are 
of  much  importance  except  upon  rare  occasions. 
Theoretically  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  is 
the  greatest  committee  of  the  House.  In  the  years 
before  the  Civil  War  this  committee  not  only  had 
charge  of  all  legislation  for  the  raising  of  revenue, 
but  also  that  of  making  all  appropriations.  It 
was  then  decided  to  separate  the  work  of  the 
committee,  allowing  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee to  continue  in  charge  of  revenue  matters, 
and  creating  an  Appropriations  Committee  in 
charge  of  legislation  carrying  appropriations.  At 
that  time  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  chairman  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee.  He  decided  that 
the  Appropriations  Committee  would  become  the 
more  influential,  and  took  the  chairmanship  of 
Appropriations  in  preference  to  that  of  Ways 
and  Means. 

A  few  years  ago  a  contest  came  up  in  the  House 
which  disclosed  the  attitude  of  its  Members  -with 
reference  to  the  question  of  the  relative  standing 
of  these  two  committees.  When  the  House  took 
up  the  matter  of  determining  which  committee 
should  remain  in  the  Capitol  and  which  should  go 
to  the  new  House  Office  Building,  neither  the  Ways 
and  Means   Committee  nor  the  Appropriations 


BEARING  THE  MACE. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  EEPEESENTATIVES  269 

Committee  wished  to  move,  and  there  was  room 
for  only  one  of  them  to  stay.  They  couldn  't  agree 
on  the  matter  themselves  and  so  referred  it  to  the 
House,  which,  by  a  large  majority  decided  that 
the  Appropriations  Committee  should  be  allowed 
to  retain  its  quarters  in  the  Capitol  Building. 
Since  the  Democrats  came  into  power  in  the 
Sixty-second  Congress,  their  course  in  making  the 
majority  members  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee a  Committee  on  Committees  has  served  to 
make  Ways  and  Means  beyond  all  question  the 
most  important  committee  of  the  House  and  its 
chairman  the  actual  as  well  as  the  titular  floor 
leader. 

The  relative  importance  of  the  various  com- 
mittees varies  with  the  character  of  the  issues  be- 
fore the  country.  When  the  tariff  question  is 
uppermost  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  is 
by  far  the  biggest  committee  in  the  House.  When 
the  coinage  question  was  uppermost  the  Commit- 
tee on  Coinage,  Weights,  and  Measures  was  the 
most  important  of  them  all,  although  in  recent 
years  it  has  had  almost  nothing  to  do.  Twenty 
years  ago  the  Committee  on  Interstate  and  For- 
eign Commerce  was  a  comparatively  unimportant 
one.  Since  that  time  the  large  number  of  prob- 
lems of  one  kind  and  another  affecting  interstate- 
commerce  matters,  the  public  health,  and  the 
Panama  Canal,  have  served  to  make  it  probably 
the  most  important  legislative  committee  of  the 
House.    The  Committee  on  Post  Office  and  Post 


270     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Roads  has  increased  in  importance  so  rapidly 
that  it  now  ranks  as  one  of  the  "Big  Four"  com- 
mittees— Ways  and  Means,  Appropriations,  In- 
terstate and  Foreign  Commerce,  and  Post  Office 
and  Post  Roads. 

New  Members  arriving  in  Washington  some- 
times astonish  those  who  know  the  ropes  by  their 
expression  of  preference  in  the  matter  of  com- 
mittee assignments.  Some  years  ago,  when  John 
Sharp  Williams  was  the  minority  leader  in  the 
House,  a  new  Member  came  out  of  Texas  who 
said  he  had  only  one  request  to  make  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, and  that  was  that  he  be  permitted  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Railways 
and  Canals.  He  was  told  that  this  committee  had 
next  to  nothing  to  do  and  would  be  a  very  unde- 
sirable assignment,  but  he  insisted  that  that  com- 
mittee would  write  the  most  important  legislation 
of  the  ensuing  decade  and  that  he  wanted  to  be 
one  of  its  members.  His  wish  was  gratified,  but 
from  that  day  to  this  the  Committee  on  Railways 
and  Canals  has  done  little  else  than  organize  at 
the  beginning  of  each  Congress. 

The  House  of  Representatives  requires  an  ef- 
ficient staff  of  officials  and  clerks  to  serve  it.  The 
Speaker  has  a  personal  staff  of  about  half  a  dozen 
clerks  and  messengers.  One  of  these  clerks  is 
known  as  the  clerk  at  the  Speaker's  table.  He 
is  always  an  expert  on  parliamentary  law  and  one 
who  has  the  precedents  of  the  House  procedure 
ever  at  his  finger  tips.      Under  the  Republican 


THE  HOUSE  OF  EEPRESENTATIVES  271 

Speakers  from  1895  to  1911  this  position  was  held 
by  Asher  C.  Hinds,  of  Maine,  who  came  to  know 
more  about  House  procedure  than  any  other  man 
in  the  country,  and  his  compilation  of  House  Pre- 
cedents, published  by  the  Government  Printing 
Office  and  contained  in  a  half  dozen  large  quarto 
volumes,  is  the  most  exhaustive  compilation  of 
parliamentary  law  in  the  world.  Mr.  Hinds  was 
elected  a  Member  of  the  House  in  1910,  and,  the 
Democrats  coming  into  power,  he  was  succeeded 
as  chief  parliamentarian  by  Judge  Charles  R. 
Crisp,  who  had  held  the  office  before  when  his 
father,  Charles  F.  Crisp,  was  Speaker. 

The  House  has  a  Chaplain,  who  invokes  Divine 
guidance  for  its  deliberations  every  time  it  meets. 
For  years  this  Chaplain  has  been  a  minister  who 
is  blind  as  a  result  of  a  wound  received  in  the 
Civil  War.  He  is  a  Republican,  but  when  the 
Democrats  came  into  power  they  unanimously 
agreed  that  he  should  be  reelected. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  the  House 
is  the  mace,  the  emblem  of  its  authority.  If  a 
Member  refuses  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  Speaker 
or  of  the  House,  the  Speaker  orders  the  Sergeant 
at  Arms  to  bring  the  offender  to  order.  This  of- 
ficial takes  the  mace,  which  is  a  variation  of  the 
old  Roman  symbol  of  power — the  fasces  of  the 
lictor — except  that  a  silver  eagle  is  substituted  for 
the  battle  ax,  and  marches  to  the  seat  of  the  of- 
fender. A  Member  always  dreads  a  visit  from 
the   Sergeant   at  Arms   bearing  the  mace   and 


272     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

usually  subsides  before  it  is  taken  from  its 
pedestal  near  the  Speaker's  chair. 

The  House  has  its  own  post  office,  its  own  res- 
taurant, a  folding  room  from  which  documents 
are  sent  out,  a  document  room  where  all  sorts 
of  legislative  documents  are  on  file,  and  other 
facilities  which  leave  nothing  to  be  desired  in 
expediting  legislation.  It  is  when  a  session  of 
Congress  comes  to  a  close  that  one  of  the  most 
interesting  scenes  of  congressional  activity  is 
enacted.  For  several  days  before  there  is  usually 
a  great  crush  of  business  with  perhaps  an  all- 
night  filibuster  on  top  of  it.  An  all-night  session 
is  a  strenuous  affair  and  the  Members  try  to  keep 
awake  by  singing,  smoking,  telling  jokes,  and 
quarreling — in  fact,  everything  else  but  legislat- 
ing. There  are  usually  some  rather  strong  candi- 
dates for  operatic  honors  in  the  House  and  when 
they  sing  such  songs  as  ''We  Won't  Go  Home 
Until  Morning,"  "For  He's  a  Jolly  Good  Fel- 
low," "Old  Kentucky  Home,"  and  "Old  Black 
Joe"  there  are  high  times  in  the  House. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  perhaps  the 
most  expensive  lawmaking  institution  in  the 
world.  Beginning  with  the  Sixty-third  Congress 
the  annual  expense  of  maintaining  it  will  approxi- 
mate $6,000,000  a  year,  which  does  not  include 
its  large  printing  bill.  The  salaries  of  its  Mem- 
bers aggregate  nearly  three  and  a  half  million 
dollars.  Each  Member  is  allowed  $1,500  for  clerk 
hire,  and  this  aggregates  nearly  $700,000.     The 


THE  HOUSE  OF  EEPRESENTATIVES  273 

House  has  a  large  staff  of  officers  and  clerks,  the 
aggregate  of  whose  salaries  is  more  than  $500,- 
000.  There  are  other  items  to  be  considered,  such 
as  an  allowance  of  20  cents  for  each  mile  traveled 
by  each  Representative  in  coming  to  his  duties  by 
the  nearest  route,  stationery  bill,  etc.,  all  of  which 
bring  the  total  cost  of  maintaining  the  lower 
branch  of  the  National  Legislature  well  up  to 
$6,000,000. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

THE  SENATE. 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States,  called  by 
George  Washington  "the  saucer  in  which  the  tea 
of  the  House  brew  is  cooled,"  is  a  legislative  body 
differing  in  many  respects  from  any  other  in  the 
world.  It  is  the  most  powerful  factor  in  the 
American  governmental  machine.  There  are 
things  which  the  President  and  the  Senate  may 
do  without  the  assent  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives; and  things  which  the  House  and  the  Sen- 
ate may  do  without  the  assent  of  the  President, 
yet  the  President  and  the  House  can  do  nothing 
without  the  assent  of  the  Senate.  The  Senate  is 
vested  with  a  measure  of  all  of  the  three  powers 
of  the  Federal  Government — legislative,  execu- 
tive, and  judicial.  It  exercises  legislative  power 
as  one  of  the  branches  of  Congress  and  its  con- 
currence is  necessary  to  the  perfection  of  all  kinds 
of  legislation.  It  exercises  executive  power  under 
the  constitutional  mandate  requiring  its  advice 
and  consent  to  make  the  nominations  of  the  Fed- 
eral officers  by  the  President  effective.  It  is  fur- 
ther exercised  by  the  constitutional  requirement 
that  no  treaty  shall  become  effective  except  it  be 

274 


THE   SENATE  275 

ratified  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Senate.  The 
judicial  power  of  the  Senate  arises  from  its  con- 
stitutional authority  to  sit  as  a  Court  of  Im- 
peachment when  Federal  oJQBcers  are  tried  for 
*'high  crimes  and  misdemeanors." 

Without  the  advice  and  consent  of  a  majority 
of  the  Senate  no  Federal  officer  can  be  clothed 
with  the  authority  to  act  as  such.  Without  the 
affirmative  approval  of  a  two-thirds  majority  of 
the  Senate  no  treaty  negotiated  by  the  President 
can  become  effective.  On  the  other  hand,  a  law 
may  be  enacted  without  the  approval  of  the  Presi- 
dent by  passing  it  over  his  veto.  The  House  pos- 
sesses no  power  to  influence  the  Senate  or  the 
President  in  matters  of  political  appointment  or 
treaty  relations,  and  a  treaty  may  be  made  effect- 
ive without  the  slightest  consideration  for  the  at- 
titude of  the  House,  and  once  ratified  it  becomes 
equal  in  authority  with  a  law  of  Congress.  The 
House  may  decide  to  impeach  the  President,  but 
it  remains  for  the  Senate  to  sit  in  judgment,  the 
only  limitation  upon  this  power  of  judgment  being 
that  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall 
sit  as  its  Presiding  Officer. 

Not  only  does  the  Senate  possess  powers  wider 
in  range  than  those  of  either  the  President  or  the 
House  of  Representatives,  but  these  powers  tend 
to  give  it  a  dignity  and  soberness  of  mind  not  in 
evidence  in  the  House.  One  needs  attend  only  a 
day's  session  of  the  two  branches  of  Congress  to 
see  the  difference  between  the  House  and  the  Sen- 


276     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ate.  In  tlie  House  there  is  more  or  less  noise. 
In  the  Senate  everythini^  is  conservative,  staid, 
and  dignified.  The  House  will  permit  itself  to  be 
photographed  on  special  occasions.  The  Senate 
in  all  history  has  never  succumbed  to  the  impor- 
tunities of  the  press  photographer.  Upon  such 
occasions  as  an  all-night  session  or  adjournment 
day,  the  House  will  sing  itself  hoarse  while  in  re- 
cess. The  Senate  would  be  shocked  from  center 
to  circumference  if  anyone  presumed  to  raise  his 
voice  in  song  within  its  walls. 

A  few  years  ago  Senator  Tillman,  of  South  Car- 
olina, was  addressing  the  Senate,  when  Senator 
Warren,  of  Wyoming,  sitting  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  middle  aisle  spied  a  bottle  in  the  pocket  of 
the  South  Carolinian.  He  drew  the  bottle  from 
its  resting  place,  took  out  the  cork,  smelled  of  it, 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  galleries,  and  then 
replaced  it.  The  Senate  was  shocked  by  this  pro- 
ceeding and  such  a  frigid  atmosphere  was  cre- 
ated that  the  Senator  from  Wyoming  has  never 
given  vent  to  his  playful  impulses  from  that  day 
to  this.  Upon  another  occasion  Senator  Tillman 
made  a  speech  in  which  he  likened  himself  to  the 
interlocutor  in  a  minstrel  show,  declaring  that 
certain  other  Senators  were  the  burntcork  artists 
known  as  endmen,  and  that  *'Gum  Shoe"  Bill 
Stone  could  give  an  exhibition  of  walking  on  eggs 
without  cracking  the  shells.  The  Senate  did  not 
relish  this  speech,  although  individual  Members 
of  that  body  were  much  amused  by  it;  Senator 


THE   SENATE  277 

Tillman  heard  from  various  sources  that  the  Sen- 
ate did  not  enjoy  such  a  characterization  and 
as  a  result  he  declared  openly  that  in  the  future 
he  would  not  attempt  to  make  a  humorous  speech. 
Such  events  in  the  House  are  regarded  as  "happy 
hits"  and  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 

In  the  House  a  Member  desiring  to  make  a 
speech  often  has  to  beg  for  a  single  minute  in 
which  to  make  it.  In  the  Senate  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  time  a  Senator  may  talk,  except  that  im- 
posed by  his  own  powers  of  endurance.  In  the 
House  a  Member  may  ask  leave  to  extend  his  re- 
marks in  the  Congressional  Record  and  then  may 
print  there  a  speech  not  a  word  of  which  was  de- 
livered on  the  floor.  He  may  even  go  so  far  as  to 
place  in  his  printed  but  undelivered  speech  inter- 
polations such  as  ''Applause,"  "Prolonged  ap- 
plause," and  "Loud  and  continued  applause," 
and  other  little  phrases  wherever  he  thinks  they 
ought  to  go.  It  is  true  that  only  a  few  deluded 
Members  carry  the  matter  thus  far.  But  in  the 
Senate  the  practice  of  extending  remarks  in  the 
Eecord  is  never  resorted  to,  and  the  cheap  prac- 
tice of  inserting  such  interpolations  as  those 
above  is  unheard  of. 

The  Senate  differs  from  the  House  as  widely  in 
its  rules  and  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  constituted 
as  it  does  in  the  character  of  its  proceedings.  The 
Senate  never  dies;  one-third  of  the  Senators  go 
out  of  office  and  a  like  number  come  in  every  two 
years,  so  that  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  member- 


278     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

ship  is  always  in  office.  The  House  dies  every  two 
years  and  must  be  entirely  reorganized  at  the 
beginning  of  each  Congress.  There  is  a  sort  of 
rivalry  between  the  two  bodies,  each  asserting  it- 
self to  be  the  more  powerful  and  each  occasionally 
pointing  the  finger  of  ridicule  at  the  other  on  ac- 
count of  the  diif  erence  in  procedure. 

The  rules  of  both  the  Senate  and  the  House 
positively  prohibit  any  Member  of  either  body  to 
speak  disrespectfully  of  the  other  body,  and  yet 
Senators  frequently  point  out  that  the  rule  in  the 
House  is  little  more  than  mob  rule,  while  Mem- 
bers of  the  House  as  often  declare  that  sena- 
torial courtesy  is  carried  to  such  lengths  that  one 
man  may  thwart  the  will  of  more  than  ninety. 

Yet  each  body  is  proud  of  its  distinguishing 
features.  The  House  could  not  be  induced  to 
give  up  its  right  to  cut  off  debate  whenever  it 
desires  to  do  so,  and  the  Senate  has  never  found 
provocation  strong  enough  to  induce  it  to  curtail 
the  right  of  unlimited  debate.  Legislation  in  the 
Senate  is  enacted  largely  on  the  principle  of 
unanimous  consent.  In  practice  the  Senate  never 
agrees  to  set  a  date  for  a  vote  in  the  future  ex- 
cept by  unanimous  consent. 

The  principle  that  every  Senator  is  entitled  to 
speak  as  long  as  he  desires,  and  that  no  motion 
can  take  away  from  him  the  right  to  the  floor 
until  he  is  ready  to  yield  it,  has  produced  the 
unique  senatorial  filibuster.  A  Senator  in  the 
minority  at  the  end  of  his  speech  may  yield  the 


THE    SENATE  279 

floor,  and  as  long  as  another  of  the  opposition 
succeeds  in  following  him  they  are  able  to  pro- 
tract the  debate  and  prevent  a  vote.  Senators  en- 
gaged in  a  filibuster  have  long  odds  over  those 
attempting  to  put  it  down.  Three  or  four  strong- 
lunged  Senators  on  guard  in  the  interest  of  a  fili- 
buster can  usually  maintain  debate  so  long  that  it 
wears  out  the  efforts  of  the  majority  to  maintain 
a  quorum,  and  to  bring  the  issue  to  a  vote,  or  to 
a  compromise. 

According  to  tradition  in  the  Senate  there  shall 
not  be  any  hindrance  on  free  and  full  debate. 
This  freedom  of  debate  has  been  used  by  indi- 
vidual Senators  for  the  purpose  of  blocking  legis- 
lation to  which  they  were  opposed,  especially 
toward  the  end  of  a  Congress  which  expires  bi- 
ennially by  limitation  on  March  4.  Thus  former 
Senator  Carter,  of  Montana,  once  defeated  a  river 
and  harbor  bill  by  talking  it  to  death,  the  late 
Senator  Clay,  of  Georgia,  made  a  lengthy  and 
successful  filibuster  on  a  statehood  bill,  the 
Democrats  of  the  Senate  successfully  filibustered 
against  the  famous  ''Force  Bill,"  and  Senator 
Tillman,  of  South  Carolina,  successfully  insisted 
upon  an  appropriation  for  a  claim  in  favor  of  his 
State  which  had  been  repeatedly  disallowed. 

In  1908  Senator  La  Follette,  of  Wisconsin,  and 
several  other  opponents  of  the  Aldrich  currency 
bill  started  a  filibuster  against  the  passage  of  the 
conference  report  on  that  measure.  Every  tech- 
nicality was  utilized  for  the  purpose  of  consuming 


280     TIIB   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

time.  The  question  of  "no  quorum"  was  repeat- 
edly raised  and  the  session  which  began  at  noon 
on  May  29  sat  for  some  30  hours.  This  brought 
about  the  resurrection  of  an  ancient  rule  whereby 
Members  could  be  compelled  to  vote  or  to  give  a 
good  reason  therefor.  Under  this  rule  the  Vice 
President  counted  a  quorum  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  a  majority  of  the  Members  of  the  Senate 
had  not  voted.  The  Senate  also  determined  upon 
that  occasion  that  the  question  of  "no  quorum" 
could  not  be  raised  when  a  previous  roll  call  had 
disclosed  the  presence  of  a  quorum,  if  no  busi- 
ness had  intervened,  and  it  was  held  that  the  de- 
bate did  not  constitute  intervening  business.  A 
long  dormant  rule  which  prohibited  any  Senator 
from  addressing  the  Senate  upon  any  question 
more  than  twice  in  any  one  legislative  day  was 
resurrected  as  a  means  of  putting  down  the  fili- 
buster. One-man  filibusters  usually  take  place 
at  the  very  close  of  a  session  of  Congress,  and 
upon  these  occasions  some  champion  long-distance 
speeches  are  delivered. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  filibuster  ever  conducted, 
and  one.  which  gripped  the  attention  of  the  entire 
country,  was  the  one  against  the  "Force  Bill"  in 
Harrison's  administration.  The  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives had  passed  the  bill,  and  the  Repub- 
licans were  very  anxious  that  it  become  a  law. 
"When  it  came  to  the  Senate,  the  Democrats 
started  in  to  fight  it  tooth  and  nail.  The  Repub- 
licans knew  that  if  they  could  force  the  bill  to  a 


THE    SENATE  281 

vote  they  had  the  necessary  majority  to  pass  it. 
The  Democrats  realized  that  the  only  way  they 
could  prevent  the  passage  of  the  measure  and  its 
approval  by  the  President  would  be  to  keep  it 
from  coming  to  a  vote.  The  Republicans  decided 
that  they  would  insist  upon  fixing  a  time  for  a 
vote,  and  to  do  so  they  were  willing  to  break  the 
precedents  of  a  century  and  vote  a  cloture,  and 
they  attempted  thus  to  cut  off  the  right  of  un- 
limited debate.  They  found  that  some  of  their 
own  members,  while  extremely  anxious  to  pass 
the  ** Force  Bill,"  were  not  willing  to  do  so  at  the 
price  of  breaking  this  time-honored  precedent. 

The  late  Senator  Quay,  of  Pennsylvania, 
heartily  disliked  President  Harrison,  and  his  sup- 
port of  the  Democratic  filibuster  turned  the  tide 
and  defeated  the  bill.  There  have  been  many 
times  when  the  Senate  majority,  impatient  with 
a  filibustering  minority,  has  advocated  the  cur- 
tailment of  the  right  of  unlimited  debate,  but  as 
soon  as  the  members  of  that  majority  found  them- 
selves in  the  minority  they  in  turn  have  been  the 
firmest  supporters  of  that  right.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Senate  never  will  recede  from  its  ancient 
position  of  never  fixing  a  future  date  for  voting 
upon  any  issue  without  unanimous  consent. 

The  Presiding  Officer  of  the  Senate  is  the  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  is  elected  by 
the  people  and  has  no  powers  in  the  Senate  save 
to  preside  over  its  deliberations,  and  to  cast  the 
deciding  vote  in  case  of  a  tie.     Since  the  Senate 


282     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

has  no  choice  in  the  selection  of  its  regular  Pre- 
siding Officer,  it  is  careful  to  hedge  about  his  po- 
sition with  rules  which  do  not  permit  him  to 
dominate  its  deliberations.  He  is  required  by 
the  rules  of  the  Senate  to  recognize  the  first 
speaker  who  addresses  the  chair. 

When  a  new  Congress  meets  every  second  year, 
the  newly  elected  Members  of  the  Senate  are  es- 
corted to  the  Vice  President's  desk,  where  he  ad- 
ministers to  them  the  oath  of  office.  They  have 
received  their  credentials  from  the  legislatures 
of  the  States  they  represent,  and  these  are  filed 
among  the  records  of  the  Senate.  Only  one  Sen- 
ator from  each  State  comes  in  at  one  time,  except 
under  extraordinary  circumstances,  and  his  col- 
league is  expected  to  escort  him  to  the  desk  of  the 
Vice  President  for  the  administration  of  the  oath. 
As  a  rule  Senators  extend  this  courtesy  to  their 
incoming  colleagues,  even  though  there  have  been 
strenuous  political  differences  between  them.  Oc- 
casionally, however,  the  incoming  Senator  and 
the  continuing  Senator  are  bitter  enemies,  per- 
sonal as  well  as  political,  and  refuse  to  extend 
this  courtesy.  When  Senator  Clarke,  of  Arkan- 
sas, took  the  oath  of  office,  Senator  Berry  refused 
to  escort  him. 

The  Senate  is  a  great  stickler  for  its  traditions. 
Back  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  Republic  snuff  tak- 
ing was  popular,  and  for  a  while  the  snuffbox 
was  kept  on  the  desk  of  the  Presiding  Officer. 
Henry  Clay  was  a  great  snuff  taker,  and  would 


THE   SENATE  283 

frequently  pause  in  his  speeches  to  inhale  a  bit 
of  the  tobacco  dust.  To  this  day  snuffboxes  are 
maintained  in  the  Senate,  and,  remarkable  as  it 
may  seem,  they  are  frequently  replenished  with  a 
fresh  supply  of  snuff.  Senators  sometimes  carry 
personal  peculiarities  into  the  Senate  Chamber. 
Sam  Houston,  of  Texas,  was  a  confirmed  whittler, 
and  every  morning  he  had  a  little  bundle  of  pine 
sticks  brought  into  the  Senate  Chamber.  If 
matters  in  which  he  was  deeply  interested  were 
pending,  his  whittling  would  take  the  form  of 
simply  making  shavings ;  if  the  matters  in  which 
he  had  no  interest  were  pending  he  would  carve 
out  little  boats,  animals,  and  other  designs  and 
present  them  to  his  friends.  Senator  Charles 
Sumner  had  a  habit  of  pulling  the  pages'  ears. 
Upon  one  occasion  he,  in  a  moment  of  abstraction, 
caught  a  page  by  the  ear  and  proceeded  to  march 
him  up  and  down  the  Senate  aisle.  The  Senator 
was  called  and  the  boy,  who  is  to-day  a  business 
man  in  New  York,  declares  that  he  still  has  a 
vivid  recollection  of  the  acute  suffering  he  under- 
went before  he  succeeded  in  bringing  Mr.  Sumner 
to  a  realization  of  what  he  was  doing.  Alabama 
once  sent  a  man  to  the  United  States  Senate  who 
was  so  large  that  an  extrasized  chair  and  desk 
had  to  be  provided  for  him,  although  those  in 
common  use  will  seat  comfortably  a  man  of  more 
than  200  pounds.  The  peculiarities  of  Senators 
of  bygone  days  find  little  counterpart  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  more  recent  years. 


284     TIIE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  Senate  has  frequent  secret  sessions,  usually 
for  the  consideration  of  executive  business,  dur- 
ing which  the  public  is  rigidly  excluded  and  a 
great  effort  is  made  to  maintain  absolute  secrecy 
as  to  the  proceedings.  However,  the  newspaper 
men  who  constitute  the  corps  of  Washington  cor- 
respondents always  have  intimate  friends  among 
the  Senators,  and  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  the 
Senate  to  keep  the  secrets  of  its  secret  sessions. 
It  goes  into  executive  session  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  nominations  sent  in  by  the  President, 
and  also  for  the  consideration  of  treaties.  Of 
course  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Senate  to 
fully  and  freely  discuss  grave  international  mat- 
ters in  the  open,  without  giving  rise  to  complica- 
tions with  other  Governments. 

It  is  popularly  supposed  that  younger  men  are 
being  elected  to  the  Senate  to-day  than  formerly. 
The  Constitution  requires  that  a  Senator  be  at 
least  30  years  of  age,  9  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  from 
which  he  is  elected.  It  is  very  seldom  that  the 
constitutional  age  limit  is  even  approached,  the 
average  Senator  being  upward  of  40  years  of  age 
at  the  time  he  is  chosen.  There  have  been  cases, 
however,  when  Senators  have  come  into  office  at 
an  age  barely  qualifying  them  for  service  in  the 
Senate.  Henry  Clay  was  one  of  these,  and  Luke 
Lea,  of  Tennessee,  is  another.  The  length  of  serv- 
ice of  Senators  is  greater  to-day  than  it  was  be- 
fore the  Civil  War.    When  Thomas  H.  Benton,  of 


THE    SENATE  285 

Missouri,  had  served  30  years  in  the  Senate  it 
gave  him  the  longest  term  in  Congress  that  had 
been  enjoyed  by  any  Member  of  either  Honse. 
Since  the  Civil  War  many  Members  of  both  the 
Senate  and  the  House  have  served  longer  than 
Benton,  some  of  them  having  40  years  of  service 
to  their  credit. 

Being  so  much  smaller  in  membership  than 
the  House,  it  is  natural  that  the  Senate  can  afford 
its  Members  more  comforts  and  conveniences  than 
are  enjoyed  by  the  Members  of  the  House.  While 
each  Member  of  the  House  has  one  room  in  the 
House  Office  Building,  each  Member  of  the  Senate 
has  two  and  sometimes  three  large  rooms.  Nearly 
every  Senator  has  the  chairmanship  of  some  com- 
mittee, and  this  entitles  him  to  the  services  of 
two  or  three  assistants. 

The  Senate  and  House  have  placed  splendid 
facilities  at  the  disposal  of  the  press.  The  gal- 
leries back  of  the  chairs  of  the  presiding  officers 
of  the  two  Houses  are  reserved  exclusively  for 
the  200  representatives  of  the  big  newspapers  of 
the  country  who  belong  to  the  corps  of  Washing- 
ton correspondents.  Back  of  each  of  these  gal- 
leries are  several  large  rooms  which  are  for  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  members  of  the  press.  One 
of  these  is  a  telegraph  room  where  the  press  mat- 
ter of  the  day's  doings  is  sent  out.  Another  is 
the  wridng  room,  in  addition  to  which  there  are 
lounging  and  retiring  rooms.  Only  newspaper 
men  whose  credentials  have  been  passed  upon  by 


286     THE   AMEEICAN   GOVERNMENT 

a  standing  committee  of  correspondents  are 
eligible  to  press  gallery  membership.  Each  gal- 
lery is  presided  over  by  a  superintendent  and 
several  assistants,  who  do  all  they  can  to  aid  the 
correspondents  in  getting  the  news  of  Congress  to 
the  90,000,000  people  it  represents.  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  Senate  Press  Gallery  is  James  D. 
Preston  and  of  the  House  Gallery  Charles  H. 
Mann. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE   LIBEAKY   OF    CONGRESS. 

Housed  in  the  finest  building  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  possessing  the  third  largest  collection  of 
books  and  pamphlets  ever  assembled,  containing 
the  world's  greatest  collection  of  maps,  and  cen- 
tering its  activities  along  lines  which  will  make  it 
in  the  future  a  great  national  institution,  uniting 
all  of  the  great  libraries  in  the  country  into  one 
huge  system  of  book  depositories  in  which  the 
treasures  of  all  will  be  available  to  the  student  at 
any  one  of  them,  the  Library  of  Congress  is  one 
of  the  most  important  monuments  to  literature  in 
the  world. 

The  Library  Building  is  the  creation  of  Ameri- 
can architects,  sculptors,  and  painters  exclusively. 
Not  only  is  it  a  beautiful  structure  outside  and 
inside,  but  it  is  the  best-designed  building  in  the 
world  for  library  purposes  such  as  it  is  intended 
to  serve.  One  may  get  an  idea  of  how  accessible 
are  the  books  on  its  shelves  from  the  statement 
that  it  requires  only  15  minutes  to  procure  any 
desired  book  in  the  Congressional  Library.  Situ- 
ated in  the  center  of  a  10-acre  plat  of  ground, 
and  covering  more  than  4  acres  of  this,  the  Li- 

287 


288     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERN]\IENT 

brary  is  one  of  the  best-lighted  buildings  in  the 
world.  It  is  built  in  the  shape  of  a  large  square, 
inclosing  a  great  central  court,  which  is  cut  up 
into  sections  by  bookstacks  radiating  from  a  ro- 
tunda in  the  center  of  the  square.  It  has  more 
than  2,000  windows,  is  three  stories  high,  and 
the  central  rotunda  is  surmounted  by  a  magnifi- 
cent gold-covered  dome.  No  other  building  in 
America  and  few  in  the  entire  world  are  so  elabo- 
rately decorated  with  sculptures  and  mural  paint- 
ings, and  these  possess  a  merit  that  commands 
praise  from  every  critic. 

The.  main  reading  room  of  the  Library  is  100 
feet  in  diameter  and  125  feet  from  the  floor  to 
the  dome.  It  is  furnished  in  mahogany,  and  has 
a  seating  capacity  of  290. 

"When  a  reader  comes  into  the  reading  room  he 
fills  out  an  application  card,  giving  the  name  of 
the  book  he  desires,  and,  if  he  is  familiar  with 
the  use  of  the  Library  Catalogue,  the  Library 
number  of  the  book  and  the  name  of  the  author. 
He  signs  his  name  to  the  card  and  writes  on  it 
the  number  of  the  desk  he  intends  to  use.  He 
then  gives  the  card  to  an  attendant  at  the  central 
desk.  This  attendant  knows  exactly  on  what 
deck,  or  floor,  of  what  bookstack,  the  desired  book 
is  kept.  A  pneumatic-tube  system  connects  the 
reading  room  with  the  various  decks  of  the  book- 
stacks,  just  as  the  cashier's  office  in  a  big  depart- 
ment store  is  connected  with  the  various  counters 
of  the  store.     The  attendant  at  the  central  desk 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  CONGRESS      289 

puts  the  card  into  a  little  sole-leather  case  and 
that  in  turn  into  the  tube. 

By  pulling  a  lever  the  card  is  started  on  its 
journey  to  the  attendant  on  the  deck  where  the 
desired  book  is  kept.  A  bell  is  also  rung,  and 
this  calls  the  deck  attendant  to  the  tube  station. 
He  takes  out  the  card,  and  the  number  on  it  tells 
him  exactly  where  the  book  is  located.  Usually 
he  is  familiar  enough  with  the  majority  of  books 
called  for  to  find  them  without  even  the  number. 
If  there  is  no  number  on  the  card  and  he  can  not 
locate  it  without  the  number,  he  consults  a  card 
catalogue  of  the  books  on  his  desk,  and  is  thus 
able  to  find  the  book. 

When  he  gets  the  book  he  places  it  on  a  rack 
and  pulls  a  lever.  A  specially  designed  book  car- 
rier consists  of  18  brass  book  baskets,  mounted 
on  an  endless  double  chain.  This  book  carrier 
starts  in  the  reading  room  and  goes  down  verti- 
cally to  a  point  below  the  level  of  the  basement. 
Here  it  passes  around  a  wheel  and  travels 
through  a  tunnel  in  a  horizontal  direction  to  the 
center  of  the  bookstack.  Here  it  passes  around 
another  wheel  and  travels  upward  again  to  the 
top  of  the  stack,  where  it  passes  around  a  third 
wheel  and  returns  by  the  same  route.  The  car- 
rier travels  at  a  speed  of  a  hundred  feet  a  min- 
ute. When  the  stack  attendant  has  placed  the 
book  on  the  rack  and  pulled  the  lever,  the  next 
carrier  basket  which  comes  along,  automatically 
lifts  the  book  out  of  the  rack  and  carries  it  down 


290     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

beneath  the  ground  and  then  up  again  into  the 
reading  room,  where  it  is  automatically  dis- 
charged into  a  cushioned  box  at  the  central  desk. 

When  the  attendant  in  the  reading  room  wishes 
to  return  the  book  to  the  stack,  the  carrier  is  so 
arranged  that  it  can  be  sent  to  the  proper  desk 
simply  by  pulling  a  certain  lever.  The  basket 
containing  the  book  will  pass  every  other  deck 
and  will  never  deposit  its  burden  except  at  the 
right  place.  This  carrier  seems  almost  to  pos- 
sess human  intelligence,  refusing  to  carry  books 
in  any  way  that  might  injure  them  in  transit.  In 
practice,  nearly  all  of  the  books  are  sent  from  the 
stacks  to  the  central  reading  room  by  this  carrier, 
but  as  a  rule  they  are  sent  back  by  a  messenger, 
on  a  large  book  truck. 

Each  of  the  bookstacks  consists  of  from  9  to  10 
stories,  with  a  series  of  cast-iron  frames  support- 
ing tiers  and  shelves.  The  largest  stacks  are  65 
feet  high.  The  shelves  are  of  cold-rolled  steel, 
and  are  finished  as  smooth  as  glass.  The  stacks 
are  lighted  by  large  windows  of  plate  glass,  which 
are  attached  directly  to  the  window  frame  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  them  dust  and  damp  tight. 
There  are  no  sashes  in  these  windows,  and  they 
are  never  opened.  As  bright  sunshine  is  harm- 
ful to  books,  it  is  necessary  to  have  an  arrange- 
ment which  will  at  all  times  admit  light  and  yet 
keep  out  the  direct  sunlight.  Of  course  it  would 
be  a  difficult  task  to  open  and  shut  200  window 
shades  every  time  the  sun  seeks  to  enter,  so  it 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS      291 

has  been  arranged  that  they  can  all  be  shut  or 
opened  simultaneously  by  a  hydraulic  apparatus 
operated  by  pressing  a  button. 

At  the  outset  there  were  three  stacks  possess- 
ing a  total  of  44  miles  of  book  shelves,  with  a 
capacity  of  approximately  2,000,000  volumes. 
Since  that  time  another  stack  has  been  built, 
which  adds  another  million  volumes  to  the  capac- 
ity of  the  Library.  It  is  arranged  so  that  still 
other  stacks  may  be  added,  and  the  ultimate  ca- 
pacity will  be  more  than  4,000,000  volumes,  count- 
ing 9  volumes  to  the  foot.  This  would  make  a 
single  row  of  books  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
long.  The  new  stack,  which  was  built  a  few 
years  ago,  is  equipped  with  some  facilities  not 
possessed  by  the  others.  One  of  these  is  a  unique 
provision  for  economy  in  the  use  of  electricity 
for  lighting  purposes.  At  every  other  shelf  there 
is  a  push  button,  by  which  the  attendant  may 
turn  on  the  light  for  one  passageway.  This  con- 
tinues to  burn  for  about  six  minutes,  and  then, 
the  lights  are  automatically  cut  out.  If  the  at- 
tendant wishes  to  stay  longer  he  must  press  the 
button  again.  There  is  an  underground  book 
railway  leading  directly  from  the  Library  to  a 
station  in  the  Capitol.  This  runs  through  a 
brick  tunnel,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long.  There  is 
an  endless  chain  to  which  book  trays  are  attached, 
and  they  make  the  trip  from  the  Library  to  the 
Capitol  in  from  two  to  three  minutes.  Members 
of  the  House  and  Senate  and  of  the  Supreme 


292     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Court,  and  the  officials  of  these  bodies,  have  the 
privilege  of  drawing  books  from  the  Library, 
and  of  having  them  sent  to  their  offices,  to  the 
Capitol,  or  to  their  homes. 

It  is  one  of  the  cherished  ideas  of  the  present 
Librarian  of  Congress  that  the  Library  shall  be 
made  a  great  national  institution,  which  will  un- 
lock all  of  the  treasures  of  the  literary  world  to 
the  serious  students  of  the  United  States.  Al- 
though the  greatest  library  in  the  Western  Hem- 
isphere, there  are  still  many  works  lacking  from 
the  collections  of  the  Library  of  Congress.  The 
same  is  true  of  every  other  library  in  America. 
Not  one  of  them  has  a  complete  collection.  But 
what  one  of  them  lacks  another  possesses,  and 
by  a  properly  organized  system  of  cooperation, 
they  may  make  available  for  all  of  them  every 
book  possessed  by  any  one  of  them.  Such  a  sys- 
tem of  cooperation  will  give  to  the  United  States 
a  library  service  superior  to  that  of  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  The  Federal  Government 
has  other  libraries  than  the  Library  of  Congress, 
and  they  make  Uncle  Sam  the  owner  of  more 
than  3,000,000  volumes.  Each  of  the  principal 
departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government 
maintains  a  special  library  dealing  with  the  sub- 
jects with  which  it  is  principally  concerned.  For 
instance,  the  Bureau  of  Education  has  the  world's 
best  library  on  educational  matters;  the  Bureau 
of  Fisheries  has  the  finest  library  in  existence  on 
aquatic  life;  the  Bureau  of  Standards  possesses 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  CONGRESS      293 

a  magnificent  library  on  scientific  subjects;  and 
the  library  of  the  office  of  the  Surgeon  General 
of  the  United  States  Army  is  regarded  as  the 
greatest  medical  library  in  the  world.  Already 
such  a  system  of  cooperation  has  been  estab- 
lished between  these  various  libraries  that  they 
are  practically  one  so  far  as  research  work  is 
concerned. 

The  first  step  necessary  to  a  full  realization  of 
the  high  purpose  to  coordinate  the  library  work 
of  the  country  will  be  the  making  of  a  complete 
card  index  of  each  publication  to  be  found  in  the 
libraries  of  the  country.  This  will  cover  many 
million  cards,  as  each  book  requires  an  average 
of  five  cards  to  properly  index  it,  with  the  appro- 
priate cross  references.  This  index  will  show  in 
what  libraries  the  rarer  works  may  be  had,  and 
application  to  any  library  by  a  serious  student 
will  make  it  available,  even  though  it  has  come 
from  the  most  distant  corner  of  the  country. 
When  this  movement  for  the  nationalization  of 
the  Library  of  Congress  is  realized,  America  will 
be  ahead  of  any  other  nation  in  library  matters. 
Already  Mr.  Herbert  Putnam,  the  Librarian  of 
Congress,  has  placed  his  ideas  into  partial  opera- 
tion and  with  the  most  signal  success. 

The  Library  of  Congress  lends  freely  to  other 
libraries,  and  even  deposits  with  them,  for  long 
periods,  such  material  as  they  may  require  in 
their  work,  they  paying  the  transportation, 
charges.     It  also  invites  other  libraries  to  use 


294     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

its  bibliographic  service,  and  is  ready  at  all  times 
to  furnish  reference  lists  and  aids  to  specific  re- 
search. The  bibliographers,  who  prepare  lists  of 
all  works  bearing  on  a  given  subject,  render  an 
important  service.  Whenever  any  subject  be- 
comes of  general  interest  to  the  public,  a  bibli- 
ography is  prepared  and  made  available  for  gen- 
eral use. 

Without  losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  Li- 
brary was  founded  for  Congress  by  Congress, 
and  that  the  lawmakers  have  the  first  claim  upon 
its  attention,  the  Librarian  is  seeking  in  every 
way  to  extend  the  scope  and  usefulness  of  its 
work.  The  card-index  system  which  has  been 
established,  and  the  plan  of  printing  duplicate 
cards  for  gratuitous  distribution  to  the  various 
other  governmental  libraries,  and  at  cost  to  other 
libraries,  have  proved  the  emancipation  of  the 
library  worker.  It  costs  from  25  to  50  cents  per 
volume  to  catalogue  library  books  and  from  15 
to  30  cents  to  print  the  cards.  It  requires  no 
more  time  or  expense  to  catalogue  a  book  for  all 
of  the  libraries  of  the  country  than  for  one,  and 
'duplicate  cards,  after  the  work  of  the  cataloging 
has  been  completed,  are  very  inexpensive.  It  is 
exactly  as  in  the  case  of  a  book.  The  cost  of 
authorship  and  composition  is  as  much  for  an  edi- 
tion of  a  hundred  as  for  an  edition  of  a  hundred 
thousand.  More  than  a  thousand  libraries  are 
now  using  the  cataloging  service  of  the  Library 
of  Congress  and  the  number  of  subscribers  is  in- 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  CONGRESS      295 

creasing  at  the  rate  of  about  16  per  cent  a  year. 
There  are  several  grades  of  cards  and  the  lowest 
grade  full  set  brought  down  to  date  may  be  had 
for  about  $200. 

As  the  low-grade  manila  cards  take  up  so  much 
less  space,  requiring  only  about  three-fifths  as 
much  as  the  best  cards,  they  are  often  preferred 
to  the  others.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  indexing  and  classification  work  of  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress  may  be  had  from  the  statement 
that  if  a  book  index  of  the  material  on  its  shelves 
were  to  be  printed,  it  would  require  15  years  to 
complete  the  job,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  a  half  million 
dollars.  Some  time  in  the  future  this  may  be 
undertaken,  but  the  ever-growing  list  of  material 
received  makes  such  a  publication  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  impracticable.  The  collections  of  the 
Library  are  growing  at  the  rate  of  nearly  100,000 
books  a  year,  and  are  approaching  the  2,000,000 
mark.  Only  the  National  Library  of  France  and 
that  of  the  British  Museum  have  larger  collec- 
tions. 

There  are  a  number  of  divisions  in  the  Library. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  that  of 
Music.  It  has  more  than  half  a  million  pieces  of 
music  in  sheet  form,  together  with  thousands  of 
volumes  of  bound  scores,  as  well  as  general  musi- 
cal literature.  The  development  of  the  collection 
under  expert  advice  during  the  past  decade  has 
made  it  one  of  the  most  famous  collections  in 
the  world.    It  includes,  for  instance,  nearly  2,000 


296     TPIE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

scores  of  modern  operas,  and  more  than  12,000 
opera  texts.  The  aim  of  the  Music  Division  has 
been  to  encourage  and  aid  serious  research,  and 
it  has  sought,  therefore,  the  full  orchestral  scores 
of  any  orchestral  composition  rather  than  a 
piano  or  other  merely  popular  arrangement. 

Another  interesting  division  is  the  Map  and 
Chart  Division,  whose  official  head  declares  it  to 
possess  the  greatest  and  most  satisfactorily  in- 
dexed collection  of  maps  and  charts  in  the  world. 
The  British  Museum  has  a  larger  collection,  but 
the  maps  in  it  are  by  no  means  as  accessible  as 
those  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  It  has  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  maps  in  sheet  form,  as 
well  as  an  extraordinary  collection  of  atlases. 

The  collection  of  prints  is  also  a  large  one, 
and  many  of  these  are  of  rare  historical  value. 
There  is  an  especially  excellent  collection 
of  prints  and  portraits  of  the  public  men  of 
the  United  States,  particularly  the  Presidents. 
In  these  collections  one  may  see  rare  pictures  of 
the  Father  of  His  Country  at  Mount  Vernon,  and 
others  of  Roosevelt  pitching  hay  at  Oyster  Bay 
and  Taft  playing  golf  at  Chevy  Chase. 

Another  interesting  division  of  the  Library 
is  that  of  Manuscripts.  Here  one  may  see  the 
papers  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  of  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  Madison,  and  others,  trans- 
ferred from  the  State  Department,  together  with 
various  collections,  the  results  of  gifts  as  well  as 
of  purchases,   which  are   now   indispensable   to 


THE  LIBEAEY  OF  CONGEESS      297 

students  of  American  history  in  search  of  origi- 
nal material.  The  total  number  of  pieces  in  the 
collection  can  not  be  stated  with  precision,  but  one 
single  small  group  contains  a  hundred  thousand 
pieces. 

The  Library  of  Congress  is  a  library  of  record 
as  well  as  of  research,  and  it  has  aimed  to  make 
its  collections  bear  testimony  on  any  question 
concerning  which  the  Government  or  the  people 
may  need  information.  Its  usefulness  in  this 
direction  may  be  illustrated  in  a  thousand  ways. 
For  instance,  in  the  sixties,  25  head  of  cattle  were 
driven  from  a  Texas  ranch.  Eye-witnesses  swore 
that  they  were  driven  50  miles  to  the  left  of  Twin 
Mountain.  Twin  Mountain  was  not  located  on 
any  map  available  to  the  Court  of  Claims.  If 
the  cattle  were  driven  to  one  side  of  Twin  Moun- 
tain, they  were  driven  by  friendly  Apaches,  and 
the  Government  would  have  to  pay  for  them.  If 
they  were  driven  to  the  other  side,  they  were 
driven  by  hostile  Comanches  and  the  Government 
was  under  no  obligations  to  reimburse  the  owner. 
An  atlas  of  1867  on  file  in  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress was  resurrected  and  it  laid  the  offense  at 
the  door  of  the  Comanches. 

The  venerable  and  lamented  Ainsworth  E. 
Spofford,  under  whose  administration  the  Li- 
brary was  built,  and  to  whose  memory  it  always 
will  be  a  monument,  once  said  that  there  should 
never  be  a  censor  in  the  republic  of  books.  He 
asserted  that  no  man  could  tell  what  portion  of 


298     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

the  trash  of  to-day  would  be  the  treasure  of  to- 
morrow. A  file  of  the  Charleston  Courier,  bought 
for  a  considerable  sum,  has  been  widely  used  to 
determine  the  question  of  loyalty  in  the  case  of 
those  who  make  claims  for  reimbursement  for 
property  destroyed  by  Federal  troops  during  the 
Civil  War.  In  a  hundred  ways  the  Library  as  a 
library  of  record  is  invaluable  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  people. 

The  Copyright  Office  is  now  a  part  of  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress.  Here  every  book,  pamphlet, 
and  other  literary  production  protected  by  the 
copyright  laws  of  the  United  States  is  registered, 
and  two  copies  are  filed  for  the  use  of  the 
Library.  Of  course,  not  everything  that  is  pub- 
lished is  copyrighted,  and  consequently  the  Li- 
brary misses  some  very  important  publications 
which  are  needed  to  make  its  collections  com- 
plete, but  for  the  acquisition  of  which  there  is  no 
provision,  except  by  purchase. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  GOVERNMENT  FEINTING  OFFICE. 

The  United  States  has  the  largest  and  finest 
printing  office  in  the  world.  It  represents  an  ex- 
penditure of  more  than  $16,000,000  for  construc- 
tion and  equipment,  and  an  annual  expenditure 
of  more  than  $6,000,000  for  maintenance  and 
operation.  A  thousand  different  important  books 
and  pamphlets  are  published  by  it  every  year,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  large  number  and  variety  of 
circulars,  bills,  and  other  small  jobs  which  go  to 
make  up  the  year's  work  of  the  Government 
Printing  Office.  It  issues  daily  and  weekly  jour- 
nals, monthly  periodicals,  and  a  large  number  of 
yearly  publications.  These  range  in  frequency 
and  importance,  from  the  daily  Congressional 
Record  to  the  annual  reports  of  small  bureau  offi- 
cials, and  in  subject-matter  from  an  abstract  re- 
port of  the  Bureau  of  Standards  upon  the  stand- 
ardization of  pyrometers  to  a  horse  book  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  or  a  Jefferson's  Bible 
by  the  authority  of  Congress. 

The  aggregate  work  of  the  Government  Print- 
ing Office  during  a  single  year  is  vast  in  its  pro- 
portions.   In  1910  it  set  up  more  than  a  million 

299 


300     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

pages  of  iypej  and  printed  nearly  3,000,000,000 
pages  of  matter,  to  say  nothing  of  nearly  700,- 
000,000  blanks,  schedules,  cards,  etc.,  72,000,000 
letterheads  and  envelopes,  and  other  things  in 
proportion.  Nearly  a  million  and  a  half  copies 
of  various  publications  were  bound.  The  compo- 
sition costs  were  nearly  $2,000,000. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  every  known  practi- 
cable labor-saving  device  is  used  at  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  more  than  $4,000,000  a  year 
is  paid  out  in  wages,  and  it  requires  more  than 
$300,000  a  year  to  pay  for  the  extra  help  re- 
quired when  the  regular  force  goes  on  its  vaca- 
tion. It  requires  more  than  a  million  dollars' 
worth  of  paper  and  upward  of  $600,000  worth  of 
other  material  for  a  year's  operation  at  the  big 
printing  office.  In  a  single  month  it  was  able  to 
turn  out  156,000,000  postal  cards.  One  begins 
to  appreciate  the  immensity  of  the  plant  when 
he  considers  how  great  are  the  little  things  on 
its  bill  of  expenses.  The  annual  soap  supply 
costs  $2,000,  while  $23  of  screw  drivers,  $82 
worth  of  pens,  $500  of  lead  pencils,  $2,000  worth 
of  machine  oil,  24  tons  of  printer's  ink,  and  other 
things  in  proportion  are  used.  Waste  paper  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  every  possible  piece  being 
utilized  in  the  operations  of  the  big  print  shop, 
and  yet  $30,000  worth  of  it  is  sold  annually. 
Simply  by  changing  the  style  of  the  Congres- 
sional Record  Index,  a  saving  of  $30,000  was 
effected.    By  changing  from  egg  coal  to  pea  coal, 


PKIXTINli    THE  TKESIDKNT-S  MESSACiK. 


GOVERNMENT  FEINTING  OFFICE  301 

a  saving  of  $10,000  was  effected.  The  printing 
of  the  Sunday  eulogy  editions  of  the  Congres- 
sional Eecord  on  Monday  morning  represents  an 
outlay  nearly  $8,000  greater  than  would  be 
required  if  this  edition  of  the  Record  could  be 
released  on  Tuesday. 

When  one  goes  through  the  big  print  shop  he 
finds  many  wonderful  things.  One  room  contains 
about  80  linotype  machines,  the  largest  number 
to  be  found  in  a  single  room  anywhere  in  the 
world.  In  another  room  are  melting  pots  with  a 
capacity  of  15  tons  of  molten  metal.  In  another 
room  is  a  series  of  presses,  whose  combined  out- 
put is  more  than  a  million  impressions  every  hour. 
Although  there  are  87  presses  in  this  room,  there 
is  not  a  pulley  or  a  belt  in  sight,  each  machine 
being  driven  by  its  individual  electric  motor. 
Printer 's  ink  is  applied  to  40  tons  of  paper  every 
eight  hours.  There  are  card  presses  which  turn 
out  a  million  cards  each  day.  The  job  section  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  existence.  It  turns 
out  more  work  in  a  single  day  than  the  average 
job  office  of  the  commercial  world  could  turn  out 
in  a  full  week.  The  most  perfect  equipment  that 
money  can  buy  is  to  be  found  throughout  the  en- 
tire plant. 

The  Public  Printer  is  able  to  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  himself  with  this  superb  equipment  when 
heavy  demands  are  made  upon  him.  When  the 
Naval  Court  of  Inquiry  into  the  destruction  of 
the  Maine  made  its  report,  President  McKinley 


302     TIIE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

transmitted  the  document  to  Congress  one  after- 
noon. The  next  morning  it  was  printed  and  in 
the  hands  of  every  member  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  and  of  the  various  members  of  the  press. 
It  contained  24  full-page  illustrations,  1  litho- 
graph in  colors,  and  nearly  300  pages  of  printed 
matter. 

When  a  congressional  committee  was  making 
an  investigation  into  the  matter  of  hazing  at  West 
Point,  the  Government  Printing  Office  was  able, 
in  36  hours,  to  print  and  deliver  to  Congress  the 
2,000-page  report  of  that  inquiry.  Congress 
makes  heavier  demands  upon  the  Government 
Printing  Office  than  any  of  the  other  branches 
of  the  Government.  Its  annual  printing  bill 
amounts  to  more  than  $2,000,000.  The  Congres- 
sional Record  and  the  printing  of  hearings,  com- 
mittee reports,  and  bills  cover  the  major  portion 
of  this  amount.  During  a  single  year  the  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office  printed  for  Congress 
more  than  a  million  copies  of  octavo  publications, 
27,000  copies  of  the  Congressional  Record  every 
day,  some  500  copies  each  of  more  than  30,000 
bills  and  resolutions,  and  numerous  other  things 
in  proportion. 

The  next  most  liberal  patron  of  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office  is  the  Patent  Office.  The 
very  large  expense  attached  to  the  issuance  of 
the  Patent  Office  Gazette  is  responsible  for 
ithis.  This  publication  is  issued  weekly,  each 
issue  containing  the  drawings  and  specifications 


GOVERNMENT  FEINTING   OFFICE  303 

of  all  patents  issued  during  the  preceding  week, 
and  also  containing  a  list  of  trade-marks  granted. 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  ranks  third.  Its 
most  important  publication  is  the  annual  Year- 
book, of  which  half  a  million  copies  are  pub- 
lished. Each  book  weighs  about  3  pounds  and 
the  total  edition  would  require  more  than  25 
freight  cars  to  transport  it. 

Nothing  is  too  exacting  for  the  Government 
Printing  Office  to  undertake.  The  War  of  the 
Eebellion  Records,  published  in  128  volumes,  and 
requiring  a  1,200-page  index,  perhaps  for  genera- 
tions will  remain  the  world's  greatest  undertak- 
ing in  the  printing  line.  These  records  contain 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  pages  of  printed 
matter  and  required  in  their  publication  80,000 
reams  of  white  paper  and  more  than  3,000,000,000 
ems  of  type.  The  whole  edition  comprises  about 
a  million  and  a  half  volumes.  Not  only  large 
tasks  are  undertaken,  but  exacting  ones  as  well. 
"When  Congress  wanted  to  publish  a  history  of 
the  Capitol,  it  demanded  that  the  completed  vol- 
ume should  be  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  the 
printer's  art  anywhere  to  be  found.  The  result- 
ing volume  is  a  splendid  example  of  fine  printing. 
When  Congress  offers  to  sell  a  publication,  it 
never  counts  in  the  cost  of  the  manuscript,  the 
cost  of  composition,  or  anything  else  except  the 
cost  of  the  paper  and  other  materials  entering 
into  the  publication  and  the  labor  involved  in 
printing  and  binding.    Yet  with  the  history  of  the 


304     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Capitol  being  sold  on  this  basis,  the  price  of  tbe 
work  was  fixed  at  $10. 

Under  the  administration  of  Public  Printer 
Samuel  B.  Donnelly  the  cost  of  performing  a 
given  piece  of  work  has  been  materially  reduced. 
During  one  fiscal  year  he  was  able  to  cut  down 
the  scale  of  charges  5  per  cent,  and  to  accomplish 
more  work  with  97  less  employees.  During  the 
next  year  he  reduced  this  still  lower  by  3  per  cent, 
the  principal  decrease  being  5  cents  per  thousand 
ems  in  the  item  of  plain  composition.  The  ac- 
counts of  the  ofiice  show  the  cost  of  operating 
each  division  and  section,  making  it  possible  for 
the  Public  Printer  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  the 
various  operations  and  to  determine  the  compara- 
tive efficiency  of  the  different  people  in  the  office. 
"Under  the  present  plan  of  accounting,  the  Public 
Printer  is  able  to  know  at  the  close  of  each  day 
exactly  how  much  the  operations  of  that  day  have 
cost  and  what  funds  remain  available  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  fiscal  year. 

It  is  a  prevalent  opinion  that  the  overhead  ex- 
penses of  the  Government  Printing  Office  are  not 
as  great  as  those  of  commercial  establishments. 
However,  these  overhead  items  include  power, 
heat,  light,  repair  to  buildings  and  plant,  mainte- 
nance of  a  delivery  service,  stock  rooms,  sanitary 
forces,  and  payments  to  employees  injured  in  the 
service.  They  also  include  $50,000  for  watch- 
men, $170,000  for  holidays,  $358,000  for  leaves 
of  absence,  and  $190,000  for  salaries.    The  over- 


GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  305 

head  charges  include  all  the  items  entering  into 
the  expense  of  operating  a  commercial  shop  with 
the  exception  of  rent  and  the  insurance.  These 
items  are  more  than  offset  by  the  half  million 
dollars  required  for  holidays  and  leaves  of  ab- 
sence. With  the  amount  of  money  the  Govern- 
ment spends  for  holidays  and  leaves  of  absence 
at  the  Government  Printing  Office  the  Public 
Printer  could  pay  the  rent  and  insurance  upon  a 
building  with  twice  the  floor  space  of  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  and  located  either  in  New 
York  or  Chicago. 

That  there  is  an  expenditure  of  unnecessary 
money  in  connection  with  the  distribution  of  pub- 
lic documents  is  the  belief  of  the  Public  Printer. 
At  the  present  time  the  product  of  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office  is  hauled  to  the  different  de- 
partments and  bureaus,  where  it  is  wrapped  and 
addressed  and  then  again  hauled  to  the  Post 
Office  and  from  the  Post  Office  again  to  the  rail- 
way-mail cars.  It  is  proposed  by  the  Public 
Printer  that  a  mailing  station  shall  be  established 
in  the  Government  Printing  Office  itself,  and  all 
mail  of  this  nature  hauled  to  the  mail  cars  direct 
from  the  workrooms  and  storage  rooms  in  the 
Government  Printing  Office. 

There  is  an  arrangement  whereby  Senators 
and  Representatives  may  have  their  speeches 
printed  for  them  at  the  actual  cost  of  the  paper 
and  the  work  of  printing  and  assembling  them. 
3?he  Government  Printing  Office  first  sets  up  the 


306     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

speeches  in  type  for  the  purpose  of  putting  them 
into  the  Congressional  Record.  When  a  Senator 
or  Representative  delivers  a  speech  which  he  ex- 
pects to  have  reprinted  and  distributed  among 
his  constituents,  he  orders  it  held  for  revision 
until  he  has  time  to  arrange  it  as  he  would  like 
to  have  it  appear.  It  is  then  printed  in  the  Rec- 
ord separate  from  the  regular  proceedings,  and 
it  is  contained  in  the  appendix  of  the  bound  sets 
of  the  Congressional  Record.  He  then  asks  the 
Government  Printing  Office  to  estimate  how  much 
per  thousand  the  printed  speeches  will  cost  deliv- 
ered at  his  offices. 

In  order  that  every  citizen  may  have  full  and 
free  opportunity  to  possess  himself  of  any  infor- 
mation contained  in  any  part  of  the  publications 
of  the  Federal  Government,  even  though  he  may 
not  be  able  to  get  them  through  his  Member  of 
Congress  or  through  any  bureau  officials  of  the 
Government,  the  office  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents  has  been  created,  and  this  office  con- 
ducts a  regular  bookstore  with  only  Government 
documents  on  its  shelves.  After  the  demands  of 
Congress  and  the  departments  are  supplied,  a 
sufficient  number  of  additional  copies  of  each  pub- 
lication are  run  off  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
general  public. 

Many  valuable  publications  are  issued  under 
the  guise  of  a  public  document.  And  the  superin- 
tendent of  public  documents  is  expected  to  use 
such  means   of  advertisirpr  them   as   will   bring 


GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  307 

them  to  the  attention  of  the  general  public. 
These  publications  are  sold  at  the  bare  cost  of 
the  production  after  the  plates  have  been  made. 
All  other  expenses  are  met  by  the  Federal  Treas- 
ury. Yet  with  opportunities  like  this  to  buy  pub- 
lications from  Uncle  Sam's  bookstore  at  a  cost 
even  smaller  than  the  actual  expense  of  produc- 
tion, the  sales  are  much  more  limited  than  would 
naturally  be  expected.  The  reason  for  this  lies 
in  the  fact  that  people  object  to  paying  for  a 
thing  at  one  place  which  may  be  had  free  at  an- 
other. Nearly  every  publication  which  the  super- 
intendent of  documents  has  for  sale  may  be 
obtained  from  a  Senator  or  a  Representative 
without  any  cost  whatever.  The  majority  of 
people  are  aware  of  this  fact,  and  write  directly 
to  their  Senators  and  Representatives  for  sucli 
publications  as  they  desire.  However,  the  total 
cash  sales  of  documents  in  1910  aggregated  more 
than  $76,000.  That  the  public  is  growing  more 
appreciative  of  the  value  of  public  documents  is 
revealed  by  the  fact  that  the  cash  sales  have  in- 
creased to  this  point  from  $12,000  in  only  six 
years.  This  has  been  due  largely  to  the  use  of 
printer 's  ink  in  advertising  the  fact  that  the  Gov- 
ernment has  such  documents  for  sale.  The 
superintendent  sends  out  lists  of  important  pub- 
lications on  all  the  leading  subjects  in  which  the 
mass  of  the  people  are  interested,  and  these  are 
posted  conspicuously  in  the  small  post  offices 
throughout  the  United  States. 


308     THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  Government  also  sends  out  to  all  of  the 
important  libraries  of  the  country  which  are 
designated  by  the  Senators  and  Representatives 
from  the  States  in  which  they  are  located,  a  full 
list  of  Government  publications.  While  many  of 
the  libraries  seem  to  appreciate  the  privilege 
accorded  to  them  in  supplying  public  documents, 
others  do  not  care  for  it.  The  Government 
requires  the  libraries  acting  as  depositaries  of 
public  documents  to  accept  the  whole  list  or  none. 
Many  libraries  are  not  able  to  give  shelf  room 
and  to  index  the  entire  list.  The  Government 
Printing  Office  officials  believe  that  every  library 
should  be  permitted  to  select  only  such  documents 
as  it  finds  essential  to  its  particular  work. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  determined  to  elimi- 
nate a  vast  accumulation  of  worthless  public 
documents  from  the  storage  rooms  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office.  They  were  documents 
which  had  been  returned  from  libraries  and  other 
sources,  and  were  piled  together  without  any 
reference  to  their  usefulness,  the  million  and  a 
quarter  documents  comprising  the  accumulation 
having  been  thrown  together  as  they  came  in.  It 
took  more  than  400  typewritten  pages  to  list 
them. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  publications  issued 
at  the  Government  Printing  Office  is  what  is 
known  as  the  Style  Book.  With  hundreds  of 
printers  engaged  in  setting  up  the  type,  and  with 
thousands  of  authors  contributing  manuscripts, 


GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  309 

it  would  inevitably  result  that  there  could  be  no 
continuity  of  style  with  reference  to  spelling, 
typography,  capitalizing,  etc.,  if  some  fixed  rules 
were  not  laid  down.  There  are  hundreds  of 
words  which  may  be  spelled  in  two  ways,  both 
correct,  and  either  acceptable.  But  in  printing 
a  book  or  pamphlet  one  or  the  other  of  these 
spellings  must  be  taken  and  adhered  to.  For 
instance,  it  would  not  do  to  speak  of  "favor'*  on 
one  page  and  '.'favour"  on  the  next  page.  In  all 
such  cases  the  Printing  Office  rules  follow  Web- 
ster's Dictionary,  not  because  "Webster's  is  neces- 
sarily better  than  any  other  standard  dictionary, 
but  because  there  must  be  some  standard  to  go  by. 
Another  matter  which  is  considered  in  the  Style 
Book  is  that  of  capitalization.  It  will  be  observed 
in  reading  newspapers  that  some  of  them  spell 
Congress  with  a  small  ''c,"  and  others  will 
*'Cap"  the  word.  In  thousands  of  cases  capitali- 
zation is  merely  a  matter  of  taste.  Yet  it  must 
be  made  uniform  in  a  given  office.  Therefore, 
the  Style  Book  deals  extensively  with  the  ques- 
tion of  capitalization.  The  practice  which  the 
Government  follows  is  to  capitalize  the  names  of 
Government  bodies,  as,  for  instance.  Congress, 
the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  and  the  Office  of  the 
Indian  Affairs.  All  State  bodies  are  written, 
unless  accompanied  by  the  name  of  the  State, 
with  small  letters,  as  the  board  of  health,  and  the 
bureau  of  mines.  All  great  natural  objects  are 
capitalized  in  both  the  singular  and  the  plural. 


310     THE  AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

as,  Ohio  River,  Massachusetts  and  Cape  Cod 
Bays,  and  the  Golden  Gate. 

In  punctuation  and  abbreviation  rigid  rules  are 
followed.  When  three  or  more  adjectives  follow 
one  another,  the  Government  style  is  to  put  a 
comma  after  all  but  the  last,  as,  for  instance,  "He 
was  kind,  considerate,  and  gentle."  Again,  it  is 
right  to  speak  of  an  '411-natured  man,"  and 
proper  to  write  "a  man  who  is  ill  natured,"  using 
the  hyphen  in  the  one  case  and  omitting  it  in  the 
other.  It  is  proper  to  write  Boston  and  Boone 
Island  Lights,  and  likewise  Massachusetts  Bay 
lights ;  Grant 's  Tomb  and  the  tomb  of  Napoleon. 

The  existing  Style  Book  of  the  Government 
Printing  Office  was  compiled  by  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  Public  Printer,  consisting  of  the 
leading  experts  on  style  in  the  Government  Print- 
ing Office.  After  they  had  completed  their  work, 
they  sent  it  to  all  of  the  various  officials  of  the 
Government  who  were  interested  for  suggestions 
as  to  additions  and  changes.  After  these  officials 
had  gone  over  the  work  carefully  and  submitted 
their  views,  such  changes  were  made  as  would 
bring  the  work  in  consonance  with  these  ideas, 
and  the  Style  Book  was  then  formally  adopted 
and  is  the  standard  to-day  by  which  all  the  Gov- 
ernment printing  is  done.  It  probably  represents 
the  world's  most  authoritative  work  on  printing 
style. 

Not  only  does  the  Government  spend  more  than 
$6,000,000  for  printing  in  Washington,  but   an 


GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  311 

additional  $2,000,000  may  be  added  for  work  done 
outside  of  Washington.  No  one  ever  has  under- 
taken to  make  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  expense 
incurred  by  Uncle  Sam  in  the  preparation  of  the 
manuscripts  which  are  printed  by  the  Govern- 
ment. They  are  practically  the  product  of  an 
expenditure  of  nearly  a  billion  dollars  a  year  by 
the  Federal  establishments;  but  if  one  were  to 
consider  only  such  activities  as  are  made  prima- 
rily for  the  purpose  of  publishing  information,  it 
is  probable  that  the  gathering  of  material  which 
goes  to  the  Printing  Office  represents  an  expendi- 
ture of  $15,000,000.  It  has  been  suggested  that  if 
Uncle  Sam  possessed  a  proper  system  of  editing, 
the  national  printing  bill  might  be  cut  in  two. 
In  a  recent  investigation  into  the  cost  of  printing 
it  was  stated  by  an  authority  that  two  out  of 
every  three  of  the  public  documents  issued  by 
the  Government  could  be  boiled  down  to  half  their 
present  size  without  the  omission  of  any  material 
fact. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

Approximately  400,000  persons  find  employ- 
ment in  the  executive  civil  service  of  the  United 
States.  Add  to  these  those  who  do  work  for  the 
Government  by  contract,  such  as  star-route  mail 
carriers,  and  those  who  are  connected  with  the 
legislative  and  judicial  branches  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  it  will  appear  that  there  are  approxi- 
mately half  a  million  people  working  for  Uncle 
Sam. 

About  half  of  these  are  under  what  is  known 
as  the  classified  service ;  that  is,  they  are  men  and 
women  who  have  been  appointed  after  competi- 
tive examination,  or  who  occupied  positions  when 
they  became  subject  to  examination.  The  United 
States  annually  expends  several  hundred  million 
dollars  for  salaries  and  wages.  These  salaries 
range  from  the  $75,000  paid  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  down  to  the  $5  a  year  received 
by  a  backwoods  postmaster,  determined  by  the 
cancellation  of  the  postage  stamps  on  mail  origi- 
nating at  his  oflfice. 

Government  employees  get  their  positions  in 
different  ways.    The  President  directly  appoints 

312 


THE   CIVIL   SEEVICE  313 

nearly  10,000  of  them.  These  are  the  higher  of- 
ficials of  the  Government,  such  as  Cabinet  officers 
and  their  chief  assistants,  judges  of  the  courts, 
postmasters  above  the  fourth  class,  United  States 
marshals,  district  attorneys,  heads  of  important 
bureaus,  and  members  of  various  commissions  and 
other  organizations.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion employees  secure  their  positions  through  com- 
petitive examinations  taken  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Civil  Service  Commission,  a  body  which  has 
in  charge  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Federal  civil-service  law.  Nearly  200,000  re- 
ceive their  appointments  without  competitive  ex- 
aminations, and  are  said  to  be  in  the  unclassified 
service.  Many  of  these  are  in  positions  where 
mental  qualifications  are  not  as  essential  as  phys- 
ical strength,  most  of  them  being  merely  manual 
laborers. 

The  maintenance  of  a  competent  force  for  the 
operation  of  the  machinery  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment always  has  involved  many  serious  prob- 
lems. During  the  greater  part  of  the  first  cen- 
tury of  national  existence  positions  in  the  Federal 
service  were  distributed  under  what  was  known 
as  the  *' spoils  system."  When  a  new  political 
party  came  into  power  it  considered  that  one  of 
its  first  duties  was  to  turn  out  the  entire  force 
which  had  administered  affairs  under  the  former 
administration,  and  to  put  its  own  adherents  into 
their  places.  The  evils  of  the  "spoils  system*' 
continued  to  grow  more  marked  until  1883,  when 


314     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERN"MENT 

the  civil-service  act  was  passed,  and  the  present 
merit  system  had  its  beginning. 

That  this  system  of  appointing  Government 
employees  and  keeping  them  in  office  has  been  a 
vast  improvement  over  the  old  patronage  system 
is  agreed  by  all.  But  even  with  this  plan  of  main- 
taining an  efficient  force  certain  objections  have 
arisen.  One  of  these  is  that  employees  continue 
in  the  service  long  after  the  period  of  their  ef- 
ficiency is  passed,  and  when  they  are  no  longer 
able  to  render  satisfactory  return  for  their 
salaries.  It  is  agreed  that  the  Government  should 
not  turn  them  out  of  the  service,  and  yet  it  is 
realized  that  they  have  passed  their  term  of  use- 
fulness. To  keep  them  in  their  positions  after 
they  have  become  unable  to  do  their  work  is  to 
adopt,  without  any  law  therefor,  a  sort  of  old- 
age  pension  system. 

There  are  clerks  in  the  Government  service  who 
have  to  be  wheeled  to  their  desks  in  roller  chairs, 
and  others  have  been  known  to  continue  on  the 
Federal  pay  roll  long  after  they  have  passed  the 
age  of  80  years.  Although  the  law  strictly  re- 
quires efficiency  in  the  public  service  to  be  main- 
tained, the  average  departmental  chief  feels  that 
it  would  be  inhuman  to  turn  the  old  clerks  out, 
and  so  they  continue  in  the  service.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  1  out  of  every  14  Government  em- 
ployees in  the  city  of  Washington  is  over  65  years 
old. 

As  long  as  there  is  no  law  requiring  compulsory 


THE   CIVIL   SERVICE  315 

retirement  after  a  certain  age  limit  there  is  no 
hope  of  eliminating  these  people  from  the  service. 
Of  course,  Congress  will  not  set  an  age  limit  for 
compulsory  retirement  without  making  some  sort 
of  provision  for  the  clerks  after  they  are  retired. 
A  straight  out  civil  pension  is  held  by  many  to 
be  out  of  the  question,  since  it  would  involve  the 
payment  by  the  Government  of  perhaps  $25,000,- 
000  a  year  to  people  who  were  no  longer  render- 
ing any  return  therefor.  Another  proposal  has 
been  brought  up  which  probably  will  eventually 
be  enacted  into  law.  This  proposal  is  that  a  cer- 
tain amount  shall  be  deducted  each  month  from 
the  salaries  of  Government  employees  and  placed 
in  a  retirement  fund  which  the  Government  will 
administer  for  the  clerks,  paying  them  4  per  cent 
interest  thereon.  Every  clerk  will  be  compelled 
to  retire  at  the  age  of  70,  and  will  be  paid  a  cer- 
tain amount,  in  monthly  installments,  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  This  amount  will  be  de- 
termined by  the  length  of  his  active  service. 

The  basis  proposed  is  that  of  li/^  per  cent  of 
the  full  salary  drawn  by  the  clerk  from  the  time 
he  enters  the  service  until  his  retirement.  In 
other  words,  a  clerk  who  remained  in  the  service 
for  50  years,  receiving  an  average  of  $1,200  a 
year  during  that  time,  would  have  received  in  the 
aggregate  $60,000.  With  the  retirement  pay  of 
114  per  cent,  his  annual  retirement  salary  would 
be  $900,  or  three-fourths  of  his  regular  salary. 

The  average  pay  of  the  Government  employee 


316     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

in  the  United  States  is  $948.  The  employee  in 
Washington  draws  an  average  of  $1,079,  while  the 
one  outside  of  the  District  of  Columbia  gets  $928. 
The  advocates  of  this  system  insist  that  the 
clerks  are  unable  to  save  anything  out  of  these 
salaries  when  managing  their  own  finances,  but 
believe  that  if  the  Government  made  their  sav- 
ings compulsory,  they  could  rise  to  the  occasion 
and  find  their  old  age  provided  for. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  if  the  United 
States  finally  decides  to  adopt  a  system  of  retir- 
ing the  superannuated,  the  Federal  Treasury  will 
have  to  meet  the  outlays  thereunder  until  such 
time  as  the  funds  collected  from  the  clerks  are 
suflBcient  to  meet  the  annual  demands  upon  the 
retirement  funds.  According  to  the  figures  pre- 
pared the  deductions  from  the  salaries  of  the 
clerks  would  not  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  annui- 
ties until  after  1975.  Prior  to  that  time  the 
Federal  Treasury  would  have  to  make  an  annual 
contribution  beginning  with  about  three-quarters 
of  a  million  dollars  for  the  year  the  law  became 
effective,  increasing  year  by  year  until  it  reached 
one  and  three-quarter  millions,  and  then  declin- 
ing again  to  nothing  in  a  little  less  than  70  years. 
The  total  help  the  clerks  would  get  in  this  way 
would  amount  to  $65,000,000,  besides  the  several 
million  dollars  it  would  cost  to  administer  the 
fund. 

Despite  the  fact  that  those  who  are  in  the 
Government  service  feel  that  they  are  underpaid, 


THE   CIVIL   SERVICE  317i 

and  that  their  battle  with  the  high  cost  of  living 
is  an  unequal  one,  a  feeling  that  is  certainly  justi- 
fied in  the  case  of  the  man  in  the  service  who  has 
to  support  a  family  in  Washington,  there  are 
always  a  plentiful  number  of  others  who  would  be 
glad  to  take  their  places.  There  are  two  eligiblea 
for  every  appointment  made.  During  a  recent 
year  the  Civil  Service  Commission  examined  123,- 
€57  applicants  for  civil  service  appointments. 
Senators  and  Representatives  are  being  con- 
stantly besieged  by  constituents  who  would  like 
to  get  into  the  Government  service,  so  much  so 
that  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  day  will  come 
when  Congress  will  enact  a  law  forbidding  any 
of  its  Members  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  anyone 
for  appointment  to  the  classified  Federal  service. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  is  now  pursuing 
the  policy  of  holding  only  such  examinations  as 
are  required  for  the  needs  of  the  service.  For- 
merly examinations  were  held  more  frequently, 
and  the  result  was  that  there  were  nearly  50,000 
more  examination  papers  a  year  to  be  gone  over 
by  the  commission  than  necessary  for  the  main- 
tenance of  a  sufficient  list  of  eligibles.  This  re- 
sults in  those  who  succeed  being  advised  of  their 
ratings  much  earlier,  and  fewer  of  those  who  are 
eligible  decline  appointments  than  when  there  is  a 
delay  in  announcing  the  result  of  the  examination. 

The  character  of  examinations  is  gradually 
broadening.  Many  new  lines  of  activity  on  the 
part  of  the  Federal  Government  have  resulted  in 


318     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

a  demand  for  expert  employees  of  many  kinds. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  apicultural  as- 
sistants, banking  economists,  forest  engineers, 
grazing  fee  collectors,  oil  inspectors,  wireless  en- 
gineers, tobacco  experts,  landscape  gardeners, 
scientific  assistants  in  basket  willow  culture,  and 
engineers  of  tests.  The  Civil  Service  Commission 
must  plan  examinations  which  will  serve  to  test 
in  a  thorough  and  practical  manner  the  special 
qualifications  of  the  applicants  for  the  proper  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  the  positions  they  seek 
to  fill.  The  wide  range  of  the  activities  of  the 
Federal  Government  may  be  inferred  from  the 
statement  that  approximately  500  different  kinds 
of  examinations  are  held  annually  by  the  Civil 
Service  Commission,  of  which  300  are  filled  by 
educational  tests. 

The  method  by  which  the  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion maintains  its  lists  of  eligibles  is  to  hold  cer- 
tain annual  examinations  for  the  general  public 
service  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  In  addition 
to  these,  examinations  are  conducted  by  local 
boards  of  examiners  to  fill  local  positions.  These 
examinations  are  always  announced  in  the  news- 
papers. After  the  papers  have  been  examined  and 
the  ratings  of  the  candidates  determined,  they  are 
notified,  and  those  who  have  been  successful  in 
passing  the  examinations  are  placed  on  the  list  of 
eligibles.  Only  about  one-eighth  of  the  positions 
embraced  in  the  competitive  service  are  located 
in  Washington.     In  administering  the  service  out- 


THE   CIVIL   SERVICE  319 

side  of  Washington,  the  commission  is  aided  by 
about  1,700  local  boards  of  examiners  having  in 
all  more  than  5,000  members.  None  of  these  local 
boards  is  composed  solely  of  the  adherents  of  one 
political  party,  except  in  cases  where  there  are 
no  persons  of  the  opposite  party  available  and 
competent  to  serve. 

When  there  is  a  vacancy  in  the  Government 
service,  the  official  in  charge  of  the  bureau  or 
department  in  which  the  vacancy  occurs  requests 
the  Civil  Service  Commission  to  send  him  a  list 
of  eligibles  for  the  position.  The  commission 
certifies  to  him  the  names  of  three  eligibles  for 
appointment,  always  giving  preference  to  the 
three  available  eligibles  having  the  highest  rat- 
ings upon  their  examination  papers,  except  that 
eligibles  who  were  honorably  discharged  from  the 
military  or  naval  service  by  reason  of  disability 
incurred  in  line  of  duty  are  placed  at  the  head 
of  all  others.  Positions  in  the  executive  depart- 
ments at  Washington  are  apportioned  among  the 
States  and  Territories  on  the  basis  of  population, 
and  when  such  positions  are  to  be  filled,  eligibles 
from  the  first  State  in  order  are  certified.  Under 
the  present  rules  no  appointing  official  is  per- 
mitted to  reject  a  single  certified  eligible  in  order 
to  reach  a  name  further  down  in  the  list,  unless 
he  can  show  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  commission 
that  the  eligible  is  mentally,  morally,  or  physically 
unfit  for  the  position  to  be  filled. 

Men  have  a  much  better  chance  in  the  Govern- 


320     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

ment  service  than  women.  The  list  of  employees 
discloses  the  fact  that  only  one-twelfth  of  the  vast 
army  of  workers  in  the  employ  of  Uncle  Sam  are 
women.  The  law  gives  the  heads  of  the  depart- 
ments the  privilege  of  calling  for  male  eligibles 
if  they  so  desire,  and  this  privilege  is  frequently 
exercised.  Especially  is  this  true  in  the  case  of 
positions  requiring  confidential  service. 

Some  positions  are  more  easily  secured  than 
others.  This  is  true  in  the  case  of  young  men  for 
stenographers.  The  supply  of  these  has  never 
exceeded  the  demand,  and  the  same  condition  pre- 
vails in  the  Railway  Mail  Service  in  the  far  West 
and  Southwest,  where  nearly  all  of  those  who 
succeed  in  passing  the  examination  sooner  or 
later  are  offered  positions  in  the  service.  In  the 
more  important  positions  the  supply  of  eligibles 
is  far  smaller  than  in  the  less  important  ones. 
There  may  be  a  thousand  eligibles  for  appoint- 
ment to  a  clerkship,  where  there  is  only  one 
eligible  to  a  position  as  draftsman.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  in  the  ordinary  positions  Govern- 
ment salaries  are  considerably  higher  than  com- 
mercial salaries,  while  in  technical  and  adminis- 
trative positions,  the  salaries  paid  by  Uncle  Sam 
are  often  much  lower  than  those  paid  in  the  com- 
mercial world. 

There  are  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  all  posi- 
tions in  the  classified  service  are  filled  under  com- 
petitive examinations.  Positions  which  require 
highly    confidential    service    are    filled    without 


THE   CIVIL   SEEVICE  321 

examination.  National-bank  examiners,  receivers 
in  the  Office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency, 
the  cable  electricians  of  the  War  Department, 
special  agents  of  the  General  Land  Office 
appointed  to  investigate  fraudulent  entries  and 
other  criminal  matters,  scouts,  buffalo  keepers, 
park  rangers,  and  the  employees  at  the  leprosy 
investigation  station  in  Hawaii  are  instances  of 
the  exceptions. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  was  able  to 
demonstrate  its  efficiency  in  mobilizing  a  capable 
corps  of  clerks  on  a  large  scale  in  its  work  of  pro- 
viding the  office  force  of  the  Thirteenth  Census. 
It  held  two  extensively  advertised  examinations 
in  more  than  275  cities  in  which  nearly  9,000  per- 
sons were  examined,  of  whom  4,800  passed.  Of 
these  nearly  4,000  were  appointed.  The  70,000 
census  enumerators  and  a  large  number  of  special 
agents  were  selected  through  practical  examina- 
tions held  under  the  local  examining  boards  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commission.  In  all  civil-service 
appointments  an  effort  is  made  to  apportion  the 
positions  among  the  States  as  equitably  as  pos- 
sible. It  so  happens  that  in  some  of  the  States 
remote  from  the  National  Capital  nearly  every 
person  who  passes  a  Civil  Service  examination 
gets  a  position,  while  in  the  nearby  States  very 
few  succeed  in  doing  so.  That  is  because  the 
quotas  of  the  nearby  States  have  long  since  been 
filled. 

A  few  years  ago  President  Eoosevelt  issued  an 


322     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

Executive  order  placing  the  fourth-class  post- 
masters in  14  States  under  the  classified  service, 
and  requiring  all  new  appointees  to  undergo  a 
competitive  examination.  The  results  have  not 
been  entirely  satisfactory,  according  to  the  state- 
ments of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  because 
the  rate  of  compensation  is  too  low  to  attract 
applicants  and  the  fact  that  the  postmaster  must 
furnish  the  quarters  in  which  to  keep  a  post 
office.  This  not  infrequently  narrows  competition 
down  to  the  vanishing  point,  and  in  the  entire 
territory  covered  by  the  order  the  average  num- 
ber of  applicants  for  each  appointment  as  fourth- 
class  postmaster  has  been  less  than  two.  An 
arrangement  has  been  made  whereby  postmasters 
whose  annual  compensation  is  less  than  $500  may 
be  appointed  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
Post  Office  inspector  in  that  territory,  instead  of 
after  competitive  examination. 

The  rules  of  the  Government  against  political 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  civil-service  employees 
are  growing  more  rigid  and  exacting  every  year. 
No  clerk  is  allowed  to  serve  on  a  political  com- 
mittee, as  a  delegate  to  a  political  convention,  as 
an  officer  of  a  political  club,  as  chairman  of  a 
political  meeting,  as  precinct  worker  on  election 
day,  as  editor  of  a  newspaper  or  writer  on  sub- 
jects discussing  political  matters,  or  as  a  speaker 
before  political  meetings.  The  clerks  are  for- 
bidden to  circulate  petitions  having  a  political 
object,  to  accept  nominations  for  political  offices, 


THE   CIVIL   SERVICE  323 

to  be  active  in  local-option  campaigns,  or  to  serve 
as  any  sort  of  election  officer. 

One  of  the  problems  now  confronting  the  Gov- 
ernment in  its  efforts  to  promote  the  efficiency  of 
the  civil-service  employees  is  that  of  finding  a 
system  of  promotion  which  will  give  the  best  pos- 
sible results.  There  are  four  methods  of  making 
promotions  in  the  Government  service.  The  first 
of  these  is  that  of  free  selection  by  the  promoting 
officer.  Formerly  this  gave  poor  results,  but  it 
is  making  a  better  showing  to-day.  Another 
method  is  that  of  promotion  by  seniority,  which 
has  slight  relation  to  the  efficiency  of  the  people 
promoted.  The  third  method  is  by  competitive 
examination.  The  fourth  method  is  by  efficiency 
records  maintained  in  the  offices  where  the  clerks 
are  at  work.  The  President's  efficiency  commis- 
sion will  probably  recommend  some  system  of 
promotions  to  be  made  uniform  throughout  the 
Government  service. 

A  graphic  illustration  of  the  growth  of  the  civil 
service  of  the  United  States  is  afforded  by  a  con- 
trast of  the  Government  Blue  Books  published 
in  1816  and  1905.  The  one  published  in  1816  is 
not  much  larger  than  a  child's  ''reader,"  and  had 
but  176  pages.  The  one  for  1905  had  4,219  pages. 
The  one  for  1816  weighed  less  than  a  pound,  while 
the  one  for  1905  tipped  the  beam  at  more  than  25 
pounds.  The  publication  of  the  one  for  1816  cost 
less  than  $2,000;  the  publication  of  the  one  for 
1905  cost  $70,000.    The  one  published  in  1911  was 


324     TPIE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

so  reduced  in  size  by  the  elimination  of  useless 
material  that  it  cost  only  about  $30,000. 

The  Government  service  has  many  attractive 
features  to  the  person  on  the  outside.  The  Gov- 
ernment clerk  is  entitled  to  an  annual  vacation  of 
a  full  month.  He  can  utilize  another  month  in 
sick  leave  if  he  needs  it.  He  has  frequent  holi- 
days, half-holidays  every  Saturday  during  the 
heated  term,  and  goes  to  work  at  9  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  gets  off  at  4.30  in  the  afternoon.  To 
the  young  man  on  the  farm  and  in  the  country 
town  this  seems  to  be  an  ideal  career.  Yet  few 
there  are  who  take  it  up  and  remain  satisfied  with 
their  lot.  However,  it  usually  takes  so  much  of 
the  self-reliance  and  independence  out  of  those 
who  make  it  their  lifetime  work,  that  there  is 
perhaps  some  grounds  for  the  statement  of  a 
Senator  who  observed  the  operations  of  the  serv- 
ice through  20  years  when  he  told  a  young  fellow 
who  had  come  to  see  him  that  he  would  rather 
see  his  boy  a  good  blacksmith  than  a  Government 
clerk. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  SUPREME  COUET. 

As  the  head  of  the  American  judicial  system, 
possessed  of  powers  which  enable  it  to  pass  on 
the  constitutionality  of  the  acts  of  the  President, 
Congress,  and  the  States,  and  invested  with  a 
permanency  which  makes  it  independent  of  chang- 
ing public  opinion,  the  Supreme  Court  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  powerful  factor  in  the  American 
political  system  and  the  greatest  judicial  organ- 
ization in  the  world.  Receiving  appointment 
from  the  President,  upon  confirmation  by  the  Sen- 
ate, the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  pass 
beyond  the  power  of  either,  except  under  a  process 
of  impeachment,  in  which  the  House  must  act  as 
Grand  Jury  and  the  Senate  as  the  Court  of  Trial. 
The  judiciary  of  England  is  regarded  as  the  best 
example  of  the  supremacy  of  justice  in  Europe, 
but  the  highest  English  occupant  of  the  bench 
must  be  removed  by  the  King,  upon  the  request 
of  Parliament.  A  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  can  be  removed  for  no  other 
cause  than  ''high  crimes  and  misdemeanors," 
which  have  never  been  charged  against  any  jus- 
tice except  Samuel  Chase,  who  was  impeached  in 

325 


326     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

1804,  but  who  was  acquitted  by  the  Senate.  His 
impeachment  grew  out  of  political  opinions  held 
and  expressed  by  him,  and  did  not  involve  the 
integrity  of  the  man. 

An  example  of  how  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  may  continue  in  power,  even  after  the 
whole  country  has  turned  its  back  upon  him,  is 
afforded  by  the  experience  of  Chief  Justice  Roger 
B.  Taney,  who  handed  down  the  Dred  Scott  deci- 
sion, which  in  effect  nationalized  slavery.  Taney 
continued  to  act  as  Chief  Justice  even  through  the 
administration  of  President  Lincoln,  although  he 
was  disliked  by  the  Northern  people  as  only  a  man 
can  be  when  he  holds  opinions  against  which  a 
people  are  fighting  a  bitter  war.  As  long  as 
Charles  Sumner  continued  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  a  bust  of  Taney  was  refused  its 
appropriate  place  in  the  Supreme  Court  room. 

Although  the  people  have  frequently  com- 
plained of  decisions  made  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  have  called  into  question  its  judgment,  its 
wisdom,  and  its  partisan  bias,  and  although  mat- 
ters of  such  moment  that  their  ultimate  impor- 
tance could  never  be  measured  in  dollars  and 
cents  have  been  decided  by  a  margin  of  one  vote, 
no  one  ever  yet  has  called  into  question  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  men  who  constitute  the  Supreme 
Court.  Members  of  the  court  in  discussing  the 
lack  of  unanimity  which  sometimes  characterizes 
its  decisions  assert  that  it  can  not  be  expected  that 
where   popular   and  professional   opinion  is   so 


THE  SUPEEME  COURT  327 

nearly  divided  upon  the  questions  involved,  the 
justices,  selected  from  different  parties  and  from 
remote  sections  of  the  Union,  and  sharing  all  of 
the  infirmities  and  prejudices  common  to  their 
fellow  citizens,  should  be  unanimous  in  their  views 
upon  constitutional  questions. 

The  Supreme  Court  holds  its  annual  sessions 
from  October  to  June,  with  recesses  at  Christmas 
and  at  Easter,  and  at  such  other  times  as  the  con- 
sideration of  cases  which  have  been  heard  re- 
quires it.  When  the  court  is  in  session  its  mem- 
bers go  to  the  Capitol  every  day  in  the  week  except 
Sunday.  Five  days  are  devoted  to  the  handing 
down  of  opinions  and  the  hearings  of  cases,  Satur- 
day being  set  aside  as  a  consultation  day. 
Opinions  are  handed  down  on  Mondays.  The 
court  convenes  at  12  o'clock  noon.  Its  quarters 
are  in  the  Capitol  Building,  the  court  room  being 
across  the  hall  from  the  robing  and  consultation 
rooms,  and  is  the  room  which  was  formerly  the 
Senate  Chamber  of  the  United  States.  Promptly 
upon  the  stroke  of  12  a  passageway  across  the 
corridor  which  leads  from  the  House  to  the  Senate 
is  roped  off  with  silken  cords,  and  the  court, 
headed  by  the  Chief  Justice,  and  followed  by  the 
others  in  the  order  of  their  appointment,  marches 
out  of  the  robing  rooms,  across  the  corridor,  and 
into  the  court  room.  Here  everybody  arises  while 
the  marshal  announces  the  court  and  the  clerk 
calls  out  his  familiar  ''Oyez!  Oyez!"  and 
announces  that  the  court  is  now  in  session  and  all 


328     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

persons  having  business  before  it  will  draw  near 
and  give  attention.  The  justices  sit  at  a  high 
desk,  the  Chief  Justice  in  the  middle,  and  the 
others  to  his  right  and  left  in  the  order  of  their 
appointment.  Their  robes  hang  in  the  robing 
room  in  the  same  order  that  they  march  in,  and 
they  sit  around  the  consultation  table  in  their 
chambers  in  the  same  way. 

The  justices  wear  gowns  of  black  silk  or  like 
material.  When  the  court  was  organized,  the 
question  arose  as  to  how  its  members  should  be 
dressed.  Some  thought  they  should  wear  the 
mortar-board  cap  of  a  scholar,  some  the  garb  of 
a  Roman  senator,  some  the  attire  of  a  priest,  and 
others  the  wig  and  the  gown  of  the  English 
jurists.  When  Thomas  Jefferson  expressed  his 
opinion  on  the  subject  he  exclaimed:  "For 
Heaven's  sake  discard  the  monstrous  wig  which 
makes  the  English  judges  look  like  rats  peeping 
through  bunches  of  oakum." 

Under  the  law  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  may  retire  at  70.  However,  unless  over- 
taken by  infirmities  which  prevent  them  from  ren- 
dering efficient  service  any  longer,  they  prefer  to 
work  on.  For  instance.  Justice  Harlan  was 
eligible  to  retire  the  1st  of  June,  1903.  But  he 
has  preferred  to  work  on,  and  although  the  duties 
of  a  Supreme  Court  justice  are  arduous  and  try- 
ing, he  was  still  in  harness  in  1911,  and  had  34 
years  of  honorable  service  on  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court  behind  him.     He  has  taken  part 


THE  SUPEEME  COUET  329 

in  some  of  the  most  important  decisions  of  the 
court  in  its  entire  history.  His  34  years  of  serv- 
ice is  more  than  double  the  average  service  of  a 
member  of  the  court.  There  have  been  few  occa- 
sions when  the  membership  of  the  Supreme  Court 
has  changed  so  rapidly  as  at  the  present  time. 
To-day  there  are  only  three  members  of  the  bench 
who  were  there  ten  years  ago.  This  has  come 
about  largely  through  the  numerous  deaths  that 
have  occurred.  Justice  Shiras  and  Justice  Brown 
retired  on  account  of  age  or  ill  health,  but  Jus- 
tices Brewer  and  Peckham  and  Chief  Justice  Ful- 
ler died  in  the  harness.  Justice  Moody  became 
such  a  chronic  sufferer  from  rheumatism  that 
although  he  was  far  below  the  age  limit,  he  was 
retired  by  an  act  of  Congress  passed  especially 
for  his  benefit,  and  which  carried  with  it  full  pay 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  the  Supreme  Court  met 
at  12  and  adjourned  at  4  o'clock.  The  justices 
would  withdraw  one  at  a  time  to  eat  their  lunch 
behind  the  scenes,  and  the  attorney  addressing 
the  court  could  often  attune  his  speech  to  the 
rattle  of  the  dishes,  while  perhaps  the  very  jus- 
tice to  whom  he  was  most  anxious  to  address  his 
argument  was  regaling  himself  with  a  dozen  fried 
oysters.  This  practice  probably  would  have  con- 
tinued indefinitely  had  not  a  new  member  come 
along  and  insisted  that  they  adopt  the  plan  of 
adjourning  for  lunch  and  carrying  the  session 
further  into  the  evening. 


330     THE  AMEKICAN  GOVERNMENT 

The  procedure  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
determination  of  the  questions  involved  is  an 
interesting  one.  To  begin  with  it  hears  tlie  oral 
arguments  of  the  attorneys  in  the  case.  An 
attorney  who  can  deliver  an  effective  speech 
before  this  court  is  an  artist  in  his  line.  Usually 
the  members  apparently  take  little  interest  in 
what  an  attorney  is  saying,  and  to  the  spectator 
it  would  seem  that  the  attorney  might  just  as  well 
omit  his  oral  argument  and  trust  to  the  briefs  he 
has  previously  submitted.  But  if  anyone  thinks 
that  the  court  is  not  paying  attention,  let  him 
watch  an  attorney  stray  away  from  the  points 
his  argument  is  expected  to  cover  or  misquote  a 
former  decision  of  the  court;  he  will  at  once  dis- 
cover that  the  court  is  taking  mental  note  and  is 
ready  to  remind  the  attorney  of  his  error.  Some- 
times the  court  will  hear  the  argument  of  a  plain- 
tiff in  error  and  is  persuaded  that  he  had  no  case 
upon  his  own  showing.  Under  such  conditions  it 
will  advise  the  opposing  attorney  that  he  needs 
to  make  no  argument.  A  humorous  incident  of 
this  kind  occurred  years  ago  when  the  famous 
Matt  Carpenter  was  the  attorney  for  the  plaintiff 
in  error  in  a  certain  case.  When  the  opposing 
attorney  began  to  answer  his  speech  the  court 
declared  that  it  was  unnecessary  for  him  to  speak 
further.  The  attorney  was  hard  of  hearing  and 
did  not  understand  the  remark,  when  Matt  Car- 
penter spoke  up  and  said:  "The  court  would 
rather  give  you  the  case  than  hear  you  talk.'* 


THE  SUPREME   COURT  331 

The  justices  are  not  without  their  sense  of  humor, 
even  when  on  the  bench.  Some  years  ago  a  case 
involving  a  patent  collar  button  was  pending. 
"While  the  attorney  was  engaged  in  arguing  it, 
one  of  the  justices  asked  him  if  he  understood  him 
to  say  that  * '  if  the  button  fell  out  of  a  man 's  shirt 
as  he  was  dressing  and  rolled  under  the  bed,  the 
owner  could  recover  it  without  swearing."  The 
attorney  replied  that  no  such  button  was  possible 
of  invention. 

After  a  case  is  argued  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
its  members  take  the  printed  briefs  to  their  homes 
and  read  them.  There  are  a  large  number  of 
these  briefs  to  be  read,  and  often  a  single  case 
involves  a  stupendous  amount  of  study  if  the 
members  of  the  court  are  to  become  perfectly 
familiar  with  it.  Saturdays  being  set  apart  for 
conference  days,  the  members  of  the  court  meet 
in  the  conference  room  and  discuss  the  cases  fully 
and  freely.  A  friend  of  one  of  the  justices  once 
asked  him  what  they  did  in  the  conference  room. 
He  replied  that  they  fought  like  cats  and  dogs. 
Of  course,  this  was  overdrawing  the  picture,  but 
the  average  justice  is  a  man  of  great  strength  of 
mind  and  force  of  character,  and,  therefore, 
tenacious  of  his  views;  and  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered that  these  discussions  sometimes  become 
heated  and  prolonged.  After  every  justice  has 
expressed  his  opinion  as  fully  as  he  cares  to,  the 
Chief  Justice  calls  the  roll  of  the  court,  and  each 
member  votes  upon  the  question  of  an  adverse  or 


S32     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

a  favorable  decision.  After  this  the  Chief  Justice 
assigns  to  the  members  of  the  court  the  cases  upon 
which  they  are  to  write  their  opinions.  Later 
these  opinions  are  brought  in  by  the  members 
writing  them  and  laid  before  the  whole  court. 
Here  again  they  argue  the  case,  criticize  the 
opinion,  and  often  amend  it  so  much  that  it  has 
little  semblance  to  its  original  form. 

The  court  again  by  a  roll  call  votes  upon  the 
question  of  whether  it  shall  be  read  as  the  opinion 
of  the  court  or  not.  If  there  is  a  dissenting  vote 
on  any  case,  those  who  dissent  arrange  among 
themselves  as  to  who  shall  write  the  dissenting 
opinion.  Sometimes  the  grounds  upon  which  dif- 
ferent justices  dissent  vary,  so  that  there  may  be 
one  or  more  dissenting  opinions  handed  down. 

The  days  when  opinions  are  handed  down  are 
trying  ones  on  the  newspaper  correspondents  who 
have  to  report  them.  There  are  a  few  justices 
who  deliver  their  opinions  in  a  clear  and  distinct 
tone  of  voice  so  that  they  are  easily  followed  and 
their  opinions  easily  reported.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  others  who  speak  so  low  and  so  much 
like  a  boy  in  a  hurry  to  get  through  with  a  lesson 
that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  hear  them.  The 
Supreme  Court  makes  little  provision  for  news- 
paper men,  a  practice  entirely  at  variance  with 
that  of  the  other  branches  of  the  Government.  It 
is  true  that  there  are  tables  for  the  representa- 
tives of  the  press  associations,  but  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  corps  of  Washington  correspondents 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  333 

must  take  their  chances  on  two  little  benches 
which  are  filled  up  with  tourists  if  the  correspon- 
dents are  not  there  on  time. 

When  a  lawyer  is  admitted  to  practice  before 
the  Supreme  Court  he  signs  his  name  in  the  official 
register  of  the  court.  Lawyers  applying  for 
admission  are  introduced  to  the  court  by  some 
member  of  the  bar,  and  immediately  after  the 
formalities  have  been  complied  with  they  are  able 
to  begin  their  work  before  the  court. 

There  is  perhaps  no  other  body  in  the  world 
which  conducts  its  business  in  a  more  impressive 
way  than  the  Supreme  Court.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  its  gown,  there  is  nothing  to  distinguish 
the  court  from  any  other  body  of  American  offi- 
cials, but  silence  is  so  rigidly  maintained  that  the 
atmosphere  is  one  of  dignity  and  solemnity. 
Visitors  are  admitted  at  all  times,  so  long  as 
there  is  room  on  the  few  benches  outside  the  bar. 

There  are  very  often  little  touches  of  interest 
in  the  course  of  a  day's  sitting.  When  Chief 
Justice  Fuller  was  still  on  the  bench,  he  and 
Associate  Justice  Harlan  were  quite  chummy. 
Upon  one  occasion  Justice  Harlan  leaned  over 
and  whispered  something  to  the  Chief  Justice, 
and  they  both  began  to  laugh  for  all  the  world 
like  two  small  boys  in  school  having  a  hard  battle 
to  keep  from  laughing  aloud.  Chief  Justice  Fuller 
was  very  fond  of  his  grandchildren,  and  upon  one 
occasion  had  a  little  granddaughter  sit  on  his  lap 
while  he  was  presiding  in  the  Supreme  Court. 


334    THE  AMEEICAN  GOVERNMENT 

The  Supreme  Court  has  original  jurisdiction  in 
comparatively  few  cases.  Principal  among  these 
are  those  cases  where  ambassadors  and  consuls 
are  affected  and  those  to  which  a  State  is  a  party. 
In  all  other  cases  the  Supreme  Court  has  appel- 
late jurisdiction;  that  is,  the  cases  are  first  tried 
in  other  courts  and  if  the  litigants  are  not  satis- 
fied, may  afterwards  be  carried  to  the  Supreme 
Court  by  the  party  desiring  to  make  an  appeal. 
"When  the  court  was  first  organized  it  had  to  wait 
a  full  year  before  a  single  case  was  brought  to 
its  attention.  Original  cases  have  always  been 
very  few.  Prior  to  the  Civil  War  there  were 
never  more  than  350  cases  on  its  docket,  while 
to-day  the  number  is  nearly  a  thousand. 

The  employees  of  the  Supreme  Court  seldom 
change.  They  are  men  who  have  proved  their 
value,  and  the  court  cares  nothing  whatever  for 
patronage.  The  pages  are  an  interesting  lot  of 
young  fellows.  They  must  wear  knickerbockers 
as  long  as  they  continue  to  serve  as  such,  and  this 
often  brings  about  the  somewhat  ludicrous  situa- 
tion of  a  full-fledged  lawyer  going  around  in  boy^s 
clothes.  They  come  in  when  they  are  small  boys 
and  begin  to  read  law  immediately  thereafter. 
By  the  time  they  are  grown  they  are  well  advanced 
in  law,  and  when  they  reach  their  majority  they 
are  ready  to  be  admitted  to  practice. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  a  higher  standing  in 
the  public  estimation  to-day  than  it  had  at  the 
beginning  of  its  career.    Chief  Justice  Jay  retired 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  335 

from  the  high,  position  to  accept  a  political  office. 
A  governorship  was  then  regarded  as  more  honor- 
able than  a  seat  on  the  Supreme  Bench.  Justice 
Gushing  once  declined  the  Chief  Justiceship  on 
the  ground  that  he  preferred  his  position  as  Asso- 
ciate Justice  to  that  of  Chief  Justice.  Many  inter- 
esting- stories  are  told  concerning  members  of 
the  court.  In  the  early  days  there  was  a  famous 
boarding  house  in  Washington  where  many  mem- 
bers of  the  court  lived.  Upon  one  occasion  they 
agreed  that  they  would  drink  no  wine  at  their 
meals  except  when  it  was  raining.  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  sent  Associate  Justice  Story  to  the  win- 
dow one  day  to  see  if  it  were  raining.  Story 
reported  that  there  was  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen. 
Marshall  immediately  assumed  a  judicial  frame  of 
mind  and  declared  that  so  long  as  it  was  raining 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  they  were 
entitled  to  their  wine,  and  that  no  hour  ever 
passed  that  it  did  not  rain  somewhere  in  the 
United  States.  '^ Therefore, "  said  he,  ''let  us 
have  our  Madeira."  When  Justice  Field  was  on 
the  bench,  the  justices  who  sat  on  one  side  of  the 
Chief  Justice,  were  Field,  Gray,  Brown,  and 
White;  those  on  the  other  side  were  Harlan, 
Brewer,  Shiras  and  Peckham.  Those  on  the  one 
side  had  no  children  while  those  on  the  other 
side  had  both  children  and  grandchildren. 

Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  sometimes 
change  their  minds.  "When  the  Pollock  case, 
involving  the  constitutionality  of  the  income-tax 


336     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

law,  was  first  heard  the  court  refused  to  declare 
it  unconstitutional.  On  the  rehearing  the  vote 
stood  five  to  four  against  the  constitutionality  of 
the  law.  It  is  known  that  between  the  two  hearings 
some  justice  changed  his  mind,  as  the  personnel 
of  the  court  was  the  same.  Who  that  justice  was, 
and  what  his  motives  were,  no  outsider  is  able  to 
say  with  authority.  Upon  another  occasion,  when 
the  Hayes-Tilden  presidential  election  was  in  dis- 
pute and  it  was  decided  to  create  an  Electoral 
Commission  to  settle  it,  Justice  Clifford  ordered 
his  secretary  to  write  a  letter  announcing  that 
under  no  circumstances  would  he  accept  a  place 
on  the  commission.  The  next  day  he  asked  his 
secretary  if  he  had  sent  the  letter  and  received  a 
negative  reply,  whereupon  he  ordered  the  letter 
destroyed  and  accepted  a  place  on  the  commission. 
Justice  Brewer,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  court, 
once  declared  that  no  one  ever  knew  why  Clifford 
changed  his  mind. 

The  present  Supreme  Court  is  for  the  most  part 
made  up  of  young  men.  Hughes,  Van  Devanter, 
and  Lamar  are  all  on  the  sunny  side  of  55,  Lamar, 
the  eldest  of  the  trio,  having  been  born  in  1857, 
and  Hughes,  the  youngest,  in  1862.  The  Chief 
Justice,  Edward  D.  White,  is  a  Democrat  and  an 
ex-Confederate  soldier,  and  was  appointed  Chief 
Justice  by  President  Taft,  a  Republican.  Harlan 
and  Lurton  admit  that  they  once  shot  at  one 
another.  They  were  on  opposite  sides  in  a  small 
battle  in  Kentucky  during  the  Civil  War. 


CHAPTEE  XXVIL 

OTHER  FEDERAL  COURTS. 

The  judiciary  of  the  United  States  consists  of 
one  Supreme  Court,  nine  circuit  courts  of  appeal, 
and  seventy-odd  district  courts.  In  addition 
thereto  there  is  the  Court  of  Claims,  in  which  all 
claims  against  the  Government  are  passed  upon, 
the  Commerce  Court,  before  which  are  brought 
all  matters  relating  to  the  interstate  commerce 
laws  of  the  country,  and  the  Court  of  Customs 
Appeals,  where  the  statutes  relating  to  the  cus- 
toms laws  of  the  United  States  are  interpreted. 
These  latter  courts  have  jurisdiction  in  special 
matters  provided  for  by  acts  of  Congress.  The 
Supreme  Court,  the  circuit  courts  of  appeal,  and 
the  district  courts  have  jurisdiction  over  general 
subjects — in  short,  over  everything  not  specific- 
ally delegated  to  the  special  courts. 

The  judicial  system  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment was  entirely  revamped  in  1911  under  an 
act  to  codify,  revise,  and  amend  the  laws  relating 
to  the  judiciary.  The  statutes  under  which  the 
courts  acted  prior  to  that  time  cover  over  9,000 
sections  in  the  statute  books  of  the  country.  It 
was  a  great  undertaking  to  get  all  of  these  to- 

337 


338     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

gether,  to  eliminate  their  inconsistencies,  and  to 
boil  them  down  into  a  clear  and  concise  statute 
and  at  the  same  time  to  change  certain  features 
of  the  judicial  establishment. 

As  the  judiciary  was  formerly  composed  there 
"was  a  Supreme  Court,  with  a  Chief  Justice  and  8 
Associate  Justices;  9  circuit  courts  of  appeal, 
with  3  judges  each ;  77  circuit  courts,  one  in  each 
judicial  district,  which  courts  were  required  by 
law  to  hold  sessions  in  276  different  places;  and 
77  district  courts,  which  were  required  by  law  to 
hold  sessions  in  the  same  places.  There  were  29 
circuit  judges  and  90  district  judges  on  the  bench. 
Under  the  old  system  the  aggregate  number  of 
days  in  which  the  circuit  courts  of  the  country 
were  in  session  was  18,000.  The  pressure  of 
work  had  grown  so  great  that  the  district  judges 
had  to  preside  over  the  circuit  courts  for  16,000 
days,  leaving  only  2,000  days  in  which  circuit 
judges  presided.  The  result  produced  a  sort  of 
judicial  anomaly.  A  district  judge  would  be  sit- 
ting as  such,  and  during  the  day  the  calendar 
would  be  completed.  No  other  cases  being  ready 
for  trial,  the  district  court  would  adjourn.  The 
judge,  without  leaving  the  bench,  would  call 
another  clerk,  who  would  bring  in  another  docket, 
and,  in  many  cases,  another  crier  would  proceed 
to  open  the  circuit  court,  and  the  district  judge, 
without  changing  his  seat,  would  proceed  to  dis- 
pose of  the  circuit-court  docket,  clothed  with  the 
powers  of  a  circuit  judge. 


OTHER  FEDERAL   COURTS         339 

Under  the  new  law  the  circuit  court  was  elimi- 
nated from  the  system.  There  are  now  three 
steps  in  litigation  from  its  inception  to  the  final 
decision  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  With 
the  exception  of  a  very  few  isolated  cases,  all 
litigation  in  the  Federal  courts  begins  in  the 
district  courts.  Appeals  may  be  taken  from  these 
courts  to  the  circuit  court  of  appeals.  If  the  liti- 
gants are  not  satisfied  with  the  outcome  of  their 
cases  there,  they  may,  within  certain  limitations, 
carry  them  up  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  less 
important  cases  are  not,  as  a  rule,  permitted  to 
be  carried  up  to  the  higher  courts.  The  law  seeks 
to  prevent  the  crowding  of  the  dockets  of  the 
higher  courts  by  providing  that  final  jurisdiction 
in  unimportant  litigation  may  rest  in  the  lower 
courts. 

Each  court  has  its  own  seal,  its  own  records, 
and  its  own  officials.  There  is  a  United  States 
district  attorney,  a  United  States  marshal,  and 
such  clerks  of  the  court  as  its  business  demands 
in  every  judicial  district.  Each  district  court 
must  hold  sessions  at  a  number  of  diiferent  places 
in  the  district.  The  law  provides  where  these 
meeting  places  are  to  be,  and  the  towns  desig- 
nated are  usually  those  which  have  a  Federal 
building.  A  large  number  of  cases  are  not  tried 
by  juries,  but  each  term  of  each  district  court 
requires  the  services  of  jurors.  These  jurors, 
both  grand  and  petit,  are  publicly  drawn  from  a 
box  containing,  at  the  time  of  each  drawing,  the 


340     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

names  of  not  less  than  300  persons  possessing 
the  necessary  qualifications,  and  whose  names  are 
placed  therein  by  the  clerk  of  the  court  and  a 
commissioner  appointed  by  the  judge.  The  com- 
missioner is  a  citizen  of  good  standing  residing 
in  the  district  in  which  the  court  is  held,  and  he 
is  a  well-known  member  of  the  principal  political 
party  opposing  that  to  which  the  clerk  of  the 
court  belongs.  The  clerk  and  the  commissioner 
then  proceed  to  place  the  names  in  the  box,  each 
of  them  putting  in  a  name  alternately  without 
reference  to  party  affiliations. 

The  district  court  boundaries  of  jurisdiction 
are  laid  out  by  law.  In  nearly  half  of  the  States 
a  judicial  district  is  coextensive  with  the  State 
lines.  In  other  States  there  are  two  judicial  dis- 
tricts, while  in  New  York  there  are  four.  The 
district  judge  is  not  permitted  to  live  outside  of 
the  limits  of  his  district,  and  may  be  impeached 
if  he  does  so.  His  salary  is  fixed  at  $6,000  a  year. 
Whenever  it  appears  that  the  judge  of  any  dis- 
trict court  is  any  way  concerned  in  any  suit  pend- 
ing before  him  in  such  a  way  as  might  render 
him  unfit  to  preside  at  the  trial  of  the  case,  he  is 
required  by  law  to  make  a  record  of  the  fact  upon 
request  of  counsel.  If  either  party  to  any  pro- 
ceeding in  a  court  makes  an  affidavit  that  the 
judge  who  is  to  preside  over  the  court  during  the 
hearing  of  the  suit  has  a  personal  bias  or 
prejudice  in  the  case,  he  must  step  aside  and 
allow  the  senior  circuit  judge  of  the  circuit  of 


OTHER  FEDERAL   COURTS         341 

whicli  the  district  court  forms  a  part  to  appoint 
some  other  judge  to  sit  in  his  stead. 

Any  suit  of  a  civil  nature,  arising  under  the 
Constitution  or  laws  of  the  United  States  or  under 
treaties,  may  be  removed  by  the  defendant  from 
the  State  courts  to  the  United  States  district 
courts.  Any  suit  wholly  between  citizens  of  dif- 
ferent States  may  be  carried  to  the  United  States 
district  court.  The  law  requires  that  all  offenses 
punishable  with  death  under  the  Federal  laws 
shall  be  tried  in  the  county  where  the  offense  was 
committed,  providing  it  can  be  done  without  great 
inconvenience.  When  a  murder  is  committed  on 
the  high  seas,  the  case  is  tried  in  the  judicial 
district  where  the  person  charged  with  the  mur- 
der is  apprehended. 

There  are  nine  judicial  circuits  in  the  United 
States,  in  each  of  which  is  a  circuit  court  of 
appeals,  consisting  of  a  number  of  judges.  In 
three  of  these  circuits  there  are  four  judges,  and 
in  one  of  them  two.  In  the  other  five  there  are 
three.  Each  circuit  is  presided  over  by  one  of 
the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  They  seldom 
sit  in  cases  coming  up  in  the  circuit  courts  of 
appeals,  but  more  usually  look  after  the  work  of 
supervising  the  administration  of  affairs  in  the 
circuits. 

The  judges  of  the  Federal  courts  must  take  a 
rigid  oath  on  becoming  members  of  the  judiciary. 
They  do  solemnly  swear  that  they  will  administer 
justice  without  respect  to  persons  and  to  do  equal 


342     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

right  to  the  poor  and  to  the  rich  and  faithfully 
and  impartially  discharge  the  duties  incumbent 
upon  them  according  to  the  best  of  their  abilities 
and  understanding,  agreeable  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  No  judge  of 
a  Federal  court  is  permitted  to  practice  law,  and 
may  be  impeached  if  he  attempts  to  do  so.  Any 
judge  who  has  served  10  years  continuously  and 
has  attained  the  age  of  70  may  retire  from  the 
bench  by  resignation  and  continue  to  draw  his 
full  salary  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  a  priv- 
ilege few  fail  to  exercise. 

The  newest  court  in  the  Federal  judicial  sys- 
tem is  the  Commerce  Court.  It  was  created  by 
an  act  of  Congress  approved  by  President  Taft 
on  June  18,  1910.  It  was  given  jurisdiction  for- 
merly possessed  by  the  circuit  courts  over  all 
cases  for  the  enforcement,  otherwise  than  by 
adjudication  and  collection  of  a  forfeiture  or 
penalty,  or  by  infliction  of  criminal  punishment, 
of  any  order  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission other  than  for  the  payment  of  money.  It 
also  has  jurisdiction  in  cases  brought  to  set  aside 
any  order  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion, likewise  in  cases  arising  under  the  act  to 
regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  the  States,  such  as  formerly  were  brought 
in  the  circuit  courts  of  the  United  States.  The 
jurisdiction  over  these  matters  and  over  manda- 
mus proceedings  of  certain  kinds  is  made  ex- 
clusive, practically  giving  to  the  Commerce  Court 


OTHER  FEDERAL   COURTS         343 

full  control  of  all  of  the  laws  for  the  regulation 
of  interstate  commerce. 

The  court  is  composed  of  five  judges.  When 
it  was  organized  these  judges  were  appointed  by 
the  President  as  circuit  judges  and  designated  to 
serve  as  members  of  the  bench  of  the  Commerce 
Court.  The  term  of  one  member  of  the  court 
expires  each  year,  after  which  he  takes  his  place 
as  a  regular  circuit  judge  and  the  Chief  Justice 
of  the  United  States  designates  some  other  cir- 
cuit judge  to  succeed  the  retiring  member. 

The  member  of  the  court  holding  the  earliest 
appointment  becomes  the  presiding  judge  upon 
the  retirement  of  the  next  one  above  him.  After 
a  judge  of  the  Commerce  Court  has  served  for  five 
years  and  has  retired  therefrom  to  act  as  circuit 
judge,  he  serves  on  the  circuit  court  of  appeals 
for  any  circuit  requiring  his  services,  upon  the 
designation  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  It  will  probably  be  the  custom  when  a 
justice  retires  from  the  Commerce  Court  that 
he  will  be  assigned  to  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
selection  of  another  circuit  judge  to  take  his 
place  on  the  Commerce  Court.  Each  judge  of 
the  Commerce  Court  receives  an  additional  allow- 
ance of  $1,500  a  year,  above  his  regular  salary 
as  a  circuit  judge,  for  expenses  while  serving  on 
the  Commerce  Court  in  Washington. 

The  Commerce  Court  is  always  open  to  the 
transaction  of  business.  Its  regular  sessions  are 
held  in  Washington,  but  the  powers  of  the  court 


344    THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

and  of  its  officials  may  be  exercised  anywhere 
in  the  United  States.  The  court  may,  when  it 
desires  to  do  so  in  the  avoidance  of  undue  expense 
or  inconvenience  to  suitors,  meet  in  other  cities  in 
any  part  of  the  country,  but  its  headquarters 
always  will  be  in  Washington. 

The  machinery  for  filing  suits  in  the  Commerce 
Court  is  simple  in  its  operation.  The  person  who 
desires  to  have  it  sit  in  judgment  files  in  the 
office  of  its  clerk  a  written  petition,  setting  forth 
briefly  and  succinctly  the  facts  constituting  the 
petitioner's  cause  for  action  and  specifying  the 
relief  sought.  A  final  judgment,  interlocutory 
order,  or  decree  of  the  Commerce  Court  may  be 
reviewed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  such  appeals  being  taken  in  like  manner 
as  appeals  from  the  circuit  courts.  No  judgment 
of  the  Commerce  Court  shall  be  superseded  or 
stayed  by  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  unless 
a  member  of  that  body  shall  so  direct.  All  suits 
against  the  findings  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  can  be  brought  in  this  court,  but 
the  pendency  of  such  suit  shall  not  of  itself  sus- 
pend the  order  of  the  Commission.  Provision  is 
made,  however,  for  the  temporary  suspension  of 
such  order,  in  the  discretion  of  the  Commerce 
Court,  where  irreparable  damage  would  otherwise 
ensue.  The  presiding  judge  of  the  Commerce 
Court  is  Martin  A.  Knapp,  of  New  York,  who 
served  on  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
from  1891  to  1911.    The  other  judges  are  Robert 


OTHER  FEDERAL  COURTS  345 

W.  Archbald,  of  Pennsylvania ;  William  H.  Hunt, 
of  Montana;  John  E.  Garland,  of  South  Dakota; 
and  Julian  W.  Mack,  of  Illinois. 

The  Court  of  Claims  was  established  in  1855. 
It  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  four  judges,  and 
holds  annual  sessions  in  Washington,  beginning 
on  the  same  day  that  Congress  begins  and  con- 
tinuing as  long  as  there  is  business  on  its  docket. 
On  the  first  day  of  the  regular  session  the  court 
is  required  to  transmit  to  that  body  a  full  report 
of  all  judgments  rendered  by  it  during  the  previ- 
ous year,  the  amounts  thereof,  and  in  whose  favor 
rendered,  together  with  a  brief  synopsis  of  each 
claim.  No  Member  of  Congress  is  allowed  to 
practice  before  this  court,  and  if  one  does  so 
during  his  service  in  that  body,  he  is  subject  to 
a  fine  of  $10,000  and  imprisonment  for  two  years ; 
moreover,  he  shall  thereafter  be  incapable  of 
holding  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under 
the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

The  Court  of  Claims  has  jurisdiction  over  all 
claims,  except  pensions,  founded  upon  the  Consti- 
tution or  the  laws  of  Congress,  or  upon  any  regu- 
lation of  an  executive  department,  or  upon  any 
contract  expressed  or  implied  with  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  This  does  not  include 
claims  growing  out  of  the  late  Civil  War  and 
commonly  known  as  war  claims.  The  court  also 
acts  as  a  guide  for  Congress  in  determining  the 
propriety  of  the  Government  paying  any  claim 
which   can    be    satisfied    only    by   congressional 


346     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

action.  The  branch  of  Congress  having  a  case 
pending  of  this  nature  may,  by  vote,  refer  it  to 
the  court,  and  the  court  then  hears  all  of  the  tes- 
timony, makes  the  necessary  investigations,  and 
reports  the  facts  in  the  case  to  Congress  and 
advises  that  body  what  amount,  if  any,  is  legally 
or  equitably  due  the  claimant  from  the  United 
States. 

If,  in  its  investigation  of  a  case,  the  court  finds 
that  the  claimant  has  a  claim  of  such  nature  as 
to  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  it 
may  proceed  to  render  a  verdict  therein.  The 
claimant  in  all  such  cases  is  required  to  set  forth 
fully  what  action  has  been  taken,  and  if  there  is 
any  fraud  in  the  presentation  of  claims,  such 
claims  are  thereby  forfeited  and  the  claimants 
are  prevented  from  ever  recovering  anything 
from  the  Government  on  them. 

Another  special  court  created  by  Congress  is 
known  as  the  United  States  Court  of  Customs 
Appeals,  composed  of  a  presiding  judge  and  four 
associate  judges.  This  court  is  required  always 
to  be  open  for  the  transaction  of  business,  and 
sessions  may  be  held  wherever  the  court  may 
designate.  All  cases  growing  out  of  the  deci- 
sions of  the  customs  officials  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment with  reference  to  the  construction  of 
the  law  and  the  facts  respecting  classifications 
of  merchandise  and  the  rates  of  duty  imposed 
thereon  come  up  to  it  from  the  Board  of  General 
Appraisers.     The  judgments  and  decrees  of  the 


OTHER  FEDERAL   COURTS         347 

Court  of  Customs  Appeals  are  final  in  all  such 
cases.  If  any  party  interested,  whether  it  be  a 
Government  official  or  an  importer,  owner,  con- 
signee, or  agent  of  any  imported  merchandise,  is 
dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  Board  of 
General  Appraisers  he  has  60  days  in  which  to 
carry  his  complaint  to  the  Customs  Court. 

The  business  transacted  in  the  circuit  and  dis- 
trict courts  of  the  United  States  is  large.  During 
the  fiscal  year  of  1910,  3,464  Government  cases 
were  terminated.  They  resulted  in  1,866  judg- 
ments for  the  United  States  and  254  judgments 
against  the  United  States.  The  remainder  were 
either  dismissed  or  discontinued.  The  criminal 
prosecutions  in  these  courts  are  numerous,  a  total 
of  more  than  15,000  cases  having  been  terminated 
in  1910.  Of  these  4,355  grew  out  of  violations  of  the 
internal-revenue  laws,  1,775  represented  viola- 
tions of  the  postal  laws,  and  401  violations  of  the 
pure  food  and  drug  laws.  These  15,371  cases 
resulted  in  9,451  convictions  and  1,459  acquittals, 
the  remaining  cases  having  been  thrown  out  of 
court  upon  one  ground  or  another.  There  were 
nearly  10,000  criminal  prosecutions  pending  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  The  courts  dispose  of 
approximately  10,000  suits  a  year  to  which  the 
United  States  is  not  a  party,  and  have  about 
45,000  cases  on  their  dockets  upon  any  one  day. 

When  a  man  or  a  corporation  goes  into  bank- 
ruptcy, the  proceedings  take  place  in  the  Federal 
courts.     During  an  average  year  about  14,000 


348     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

voluntary  petitions  in  bankruptcy  are  filed  and 
a  like  number  are  disposed  of.  There  are  always 
on  the  dockets  of  the  Federal  courts  about  30,000 
unsettled  voluntary  bankruptcy  cases.  The 
aggregate  liabilities  of  the  voluntary  bankruptcy 
cases  closed  out  in  an  average  year  is  approxi- 
mately $100,000,000.  Wage-earners  resort  to  the 
bankruptcy  courts  more  frequently  than  any  other 
class  of  people.  In  1910,  842  petitioners  in  volun- 
tary cases  were  farmers,  4,366  wage-earners, 
3,667  merchants,  386  manufacturers,  and  333  pro- 
fessional men. 

When  an  insolvent  fails  to  make  a  voluntary 
bankruptcy  petition,  outsiders  may  file  petitions 
to  have  him  adjudged  a  bankrupt.  About  4,000 
such  petitions  are  filed  a  year.  Nearly  half  of 
those  against  whom  these  petitions  are  filed  are 
merchants. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE. 

After  the  Department  of  State,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  is  the  smallest  of  the  nine  prin- 
cipal branches  of  the  Federal  executive  service. 
Yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  them  all. 
Here  the  general  laws  of  the  country  find  means 
for  their  enforcement  and  the  laws  under  which 
the  other  departments  act  are  construed.  Laws 
do  not  enforce  themselves  and  the  courts  are 
powerless  to  act  unless  there  is  some  one  to  play 
the  role  of  prosecuting  attorney.  The  office  of 
the  Attorney  General  was  created  for  the  legal 
advisor  of  the  President  under  the  judiciary  act 
of  1789.  In  the  early  history  of  the  country  the 
chief  duty  of  that  official  was  to  guide  the  Chief 
Magistrate  along  legal  lines  and  to  represent  the 
United  States  in  the  Supreme  Court.  Since  that 
time  his  duties  have  expanded  until  to-day  he  is 
charged  with  the  duties  of  prosecuting  attorney 
for  the  Government,  the  direction  of  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Federal  court  system,  and  the 
supervision  of  Federal  prisons. 

When  the  Attorney  Generalship  was  first  cre- 
ated it  carried  with  it  a  salary  of  only  $1,500  a 

349 


350     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT, 

year,  and  tlie  Attorney  General  was  supposed  to 
pay  his  secretary  out  of  that.  He  was  not  re- 
quired to  reside  in  "Washington  and  was  permitted 
to  continue  liis  law  practice  while  serving  as  the 
Attorney  General  of  the  United  States.  In  1814 
the  duties  of  the  Attorney  General  were  increased, 
but  it  was  not  until  1870  that  the  ofiice  was  trans- 
formed into  a  full-fledged  department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. Prior  to  that  time  the  Attorney  General 
held  the  unique  position  of  being  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet  and  yet  not  the  head  of  a  department. 

When  Congress  passes  an  act  of  legislation,  it 
is  usually  the  workmanship  of  many  hands.  The 
original  bill  is  amended  and  amended  again  until 
it  often  bears  but  few  marks  of  its  original  author- 
ship. The  result  is  that  the  average  law  on  the 
statute  books  is  a  sort  of  patchwork  of  ideas,  not 
especially  noted  for  its  plainness  of  expression. 
It  is  often  difficult  to  understand  exactly  what  Con- 
gress meant  to  say,  and  sometimes  one  must  read 
carefully  the  voluminous  debates  of  the  House  and 
the  Senate  before  he  can  interpret  correctly  the 
meaning  of  its  legislation.  This  gives  rise  to  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  as  to  the  true  meaning  of 
many  legislative  acts  and  to  many  controversies 
before  the  departments  and  in  the  courts.  An 
instance  of  this  is  afforded  by  the  great  diffi- 
culty in  the  construction  of  the  pure-food  law. 
That  law  left  much  doubt  as  to  exactly  what  con- 
stitutes a  violation  of  it.  It  was  this  doubt  that 
led   to   the   propounding   of   the   famous   query, 


THE  DEPAETMENT  OF  JUSTICE    351' 

"What  is  Whisky?"  That  question  was  thrashed 
out  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  then  car- 
ried up  to  the  Solicitor  General  for  report,  and 
then  to  the  President  who  decided  it  finally. 

Probably  more  public  interest  is  felt  in  the 
prosecutions  under  the  Sherman  antitrust  law 
than  in  any  other  branch  of  the  work  of  the 
Department  of  Justice.  Many  great  trusts  have 
been  haled  into  court  by  the  department's  ma- 
chinery and  verdicts  secured  which  have  resulted 
in  the  breaking  up  of  such  large  combines  as  the 
Standard  Oil  Co.,  the  American  Tobacco  Co.,  and 
the  Powder  Trust.  Such  large  combinations  of 
capital  as  the  Paper  Board  Association,  the 
Window  Glass  Trust,  the  Turpentine  Trust,  and 
the  Wire  Pool  Associations  have  been  indicted  and 
prosecuted,  and,  in  many  instances,  verdicts 
against  them  secured.  The  Attorney  General  also 
has  charge  of  all  litigation  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  interstate-commerce  laws.  When  the  consti- 
tutionality of  such  a  measure  as  the  corporation- 
tax  law  is  attacked  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
Attorney  General  to  defend  the  right  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  enact  and  enforce  such  laws.  When 
the  other  departments  detect  violations  of  the 
laws  in  their  respective  fields  of  activity  it  be- 
comes the  duty  of  the  Attorney  General  to  prose- 
cute those  guilty  of  such  violations.  In  the 
investigations  into  the  frauds  upon  the  Govern- 
ment by  the  underweighing  of  sugars  imported 
into  the  United  States,  the  department  was  able 


352    THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

to  collect  nearly  $3,000,000  from  the  Sugar  Trust 
on  account  of  penalties  and  duties  fraudulently 
withheld  from  the  Treasury.  Other  sugar  manu- 
facturers were  also  found  to  be  implicated  and 
more  than  $1,000,000  has  been  collected  from 
them. 

The  Department  of  Justice  is  now  in  posses- 
sion of  a  full-fledged  secret  service  of  its  own. 
It  gives  its  especial  attention  to  the  investigation 
of  violations  of  the  national-banking  laws  and 
antitrust  laws,  peonage  laws,  the  bucket-shop 
laws,  the  laws  relating  to  fraudulent  bankruptcies, 
the  impersonations  of  Government  officials  with 
the  intent  to  defraud,  thefts,  murders,  and  other 
offenses  committed  on  Government  reservations 
or  with  respect  to  Government  property.  A  large 
number  of  other  matters  are  investigated  by  this 
secret  service,  including  Chinese  smuggling,  cus- 
toms frauds,  internal-revenue  frauds,  post-office 
frauds,  violations  of  neutrality  laws,  land 
frauds,  etc. 

Suits  may  not  be  brought  against  the  United 
States  by  individuals  except  in  certain  classes 
of  cases  which  may  be  carried  to  the  Court  of 
Claims  and  to  the  circuit  courts.  In  other  cases 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Attorney  General  to 
sit  in  judgment  and  make  recommendations  to  the 
President  as  to  the  proper  course  to  pursue  where 
individuals  seek  redress.  His  opinion  in  these 
cases  practically  amounts  to  a  final  verdict  from 
which  there  is  no  appeal.    The  Attorney  General 


THE  DEPAETMENT  OF  JUSTICE    353 

also  gives  opinions  upon  all  questions  submitted 
to  him  by  the  Cabinet  officers  and  the  President. 
During  a  single  year  111  formal  opinions  were 
rendered  by  the  Attorney  General,  19  upon  the 
request  of  the  President  and  92  upon  the  request 
of  executive  departments.  Opinions  were  also 
rendered  in  406  cases  as  to  real-estate  titles,  in- 
volving property  worth  more  than  $5,000,000.  No 
Government  money  may  be  expended  for  lands  or 
buildings  by  any  of  the  executive  departments 
until  the  matter  of  the  title  has  been  settled. 

In  the  role  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  Gov- 
ernment, the  Department  of  Justice  looks  after  all 
actions  at  law  or  suits  in  equity  in  which  the 
United  States  has  an  interest.  If  a  moonshiner 
violates  the  revenue  laws,  he  is  placed  in  the  cus- 
tody of  a  United  States  marshal  and  is  prosecuted 
by  the  district  attorney  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  the  Department  of  Justice.  If  a  man  is 
accused  of  robbing  the  mails,  he  is  arrested  by  the 
inspectors  of  the  Post  Office  Department  and 
turned  over  to  the  legal  officers  of  the  Department 
of  Justice  for  prosecution.  There  are  more  viola- 
tions of  the  internal-revenue  laws  than  any  other 
class  of  Federal  statutes.  Postal  laws,  customs 
laws,  and  pension  laws  rank  in  the  order  named 
with  respect  to  the  frequency  of  their  violation. 

The  Department  of  Justice  has  i^o  control  over 
the  Federal  courts  so  far  as  the  judges  are  con- 
cerned, but  the  district  attorneys.  United  States 
marshals,  and  the  clerks  of  the  courts  act  under 


354     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

its  guidance.  They  are  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
but  the  Attorney  General  is  nearly  always  con- 
sulted before  the  appointments  are  made,  and  in 
the  discharge  of  their  official  duties  they  are  ex- 
pected to  be  guided  by  the  advice  and  recom- 
mendations of  the  Department  of  Justice. 

The  Attorney  General  seldom  appears  in  court 
in  person,  except  in  cases  of  great  gravity,  involv- 
ing the  construction  of  the  Constitution.  He  may 
appear  in  any  court  of  the  Federal  judiciary  if  he 
desires  to  do  so.  His  chief  assistant  is  the  So- 
licitor General,  who,  in  the  absence  or  disability 
of  the  Attorney  General,  performs  the  duties  of 
the  head  of  the  department.  Under  the  direction 
of  the  Attorney  General  he  has  supervision  of  all 
cases  before  the  Supreme  Court  in  which  the  Gov- 
ernment is  interested.  He  also  assists  his  chief  in 
the  preparation  of  opinions  for  the  guidance  of 
the  President  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  and 
in  the  direction  of  the  law  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment throughout  the  country. 

Next  in  rank  to  the  Solicitor  General  is  a  lawyer 
known  as  the  Assistant  to  the  Attorney  General. 
He  is  usually  a  man  who  has  had  a  great  deal  of 
experience  in  corporation  work,  and  is  popularly 
known  as  ''the  chief  trust  buster"  of  the  Govern- 
ment. He  has  charge  of  all  suits  growing  out  of 
the  Sherman  antitrust  law  and  other  related  leg- 
islation. 

There  are  a  number  of  Assistant  Attorneys 


THE  DEPAETMENT  OF  JUSTICE    355 

General  in  the  department.  Three  of  these  have 
their  offices  with  the  department  and  act  under 
the  directions  of  the  Attorney  General.  Another 
is  in  charge  of  all  suits  brought  against  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  Court  of  Claims.  Another  looks 
after  claims  growing  out  of  depredationS;x«@t>m- 
mitted  by  Indians  who  are  still  under  the  control 
of  the  Government.  Another  has  charge  dl!  all 
the  cases  arising  out  of  the  administration  of  the 
customs  laws.  In  addition  to  these  officials,  there 
is  an  Assistant  Attorney  General  for  the  Interior 
Department  who  interprets  all  laws  relating  to 
Indian  affairs  and  public  lands.  The  Solicitor 
for  the  State  Department  is  an  authority  upon 
questions  of  municipal  and  international  law. 
"When  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  has  a  claim 
against  a  foreign  Government  growing  out  of 
such  things  as  deprivation  of  property  brought 
about  by  failure  to  recognize  his  rights  as  an 
American  citizen,  his  case  is  studied  by  the  So- 
licitor, and  the  Secretary  of  State  acts  in  accord- 
ance with  the  opinions  of  that  official.  When  a 
foreign  citizen  thinks  he  is  mistreated  in  America 
and  appeals  to  his  home  Government,  his  case  is 
looked  into  by  the  Solicitor  and  the  attitude  of  the 
United  States  with  reference  to  it  is  based  upon 
his  findings.  The  Solicitor  also  has  charge  of  the 
examination  of  extradition  papers.  He  is  an 
official  of  the  Department  of  Justice.  The  So- 
licitor of  the  Treasury  is  also  an  official  of  the 
Department  of  Justice,  and  is  charged  with  the 


S56     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

supervision  of  much  of  the  litigation  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. It  is  his  duty  to  give  necessary  instruc- 
tions to  United  States  attorneys,  marshals,  and 
clerks  of  the  courts  in  matters  and  proceedings 
appertaining  to  the  suits  under  his  superintend- 
ence. He  examines  all  official  bonds,  such  as  are 
filed  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and  issues  dis- 
tress warrants  against  delinquent  collectors  and 
other  custodians  of  public  money.  There  is  also 
a  Solicitor  for  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau,  one 
for  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  and 
one  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

The  Department  of  Justice  also  has  charge  of 
all  pardon  cases  excepting  those  in  the  Army  and 
Navy.  "When  a  petition  is  filed  with  the  President 
asking  him  to  pardon  any  person  convicted  of 
crime  against  the  Federal  Government,  he  refers 
the  matter  to  the  Department  of  Justice.  Here  it 
is  assigned  to  a  special  attorney  known  as  the 
Attorney  in  Charge  of  Pardons.  He  goes  over 
the  case  carefully  and  briefs  all  of  the  evidence 
and  correspondence  relating  to  it,  then  turns  it 
over  to  the  Attorney  General.  He  in  turn  makes 
his  recommendations,  and  then  sends  the  papers 
to  the  President. 

A  new  duty  recently  was  assigned  to  the  De- 
partment of  Justice — the  administration  of  the 
law  for  the  parole  of  Federal  prisoners.  Under 
the  act  of  June,  1910,  all  Federal  prisoners  sen- 
tenced to  a  term  of  upward  of  one  year  are  quali- 
fied, after  the  expiration  of  one-third  of  their 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE    357 

term,  to  apply  for  a  parole ;  that  is,  to  be  liberated 
for  the  remainder  of  their  term  under  such  rules 
and  regulations  as  the  Attorney  General  may  ap- 
prove. The  board  of  parole  is  composed  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Prisons,  an  official  of  the  De- 
partment of  Justice,  and  the  warden  and  phy- 
sician of  the  respective  penitentiaries.  Applica- 
tions for  parole  are  heard  by  that  board  in  the 
first  instance.  If  they  recommend  the  parole,  the 
case  goes  to  the  Attorney  General  for  approval 
or  disapproval.  It  is  a  condition  precedent  to  the 
approval  of  a  parole  that  some  responsible  person 
undertakes  to  look  after  the  prisoner  and  to  pro- 
vide him  with  employment.  The  prisoner  is  sub- 
ject also  to  general  supervision  by  a  probation 
officer.  In  case  he  violates  the  conditions  of  his 
parole,  he  may  be  returned  to  prison.  A  very 
large  number  of  prisoners  have  been  paroled  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  Up  to  the  present  time,  no 
prisoner  has  violated  his  parole. 

It  is  said  by  the  officials  of  the  department  that 
letters  constantly  reaching  them  indicate  that 
there  is  a  somewhat  general  misconception  on  the 
part  of  the  public  of  the  department 's  relation  to 
the  administration  of  justice.  It  does  not  in  any 
way  or  sense  control  or  direct  the  action  of  the 
Federal  courts,  nor  is  it  responsible  for  the  final 
decision  of  any  court,  civil  or  criminal ;  its  respon- 
sibility ending  with  the  proper  presentation  to  a 
court  of  the  facts  and  constructions  of  the  law 
germane  to  the  contention  of  the  Government  in 


358     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

any  particular  case.  The  motto  which  appears  on 
the  seal  of  the  department  is:  "Qui  pro  domina 
justitia  sequitor.'*  Poetically  translated,  this 
means:  "Who  sues  for  the  lady  justice?"  In 
other  words,  the  department  is  charged  with  the 
responsibility  solely  of  presenting  to  the  appro- 
priate court  the  considerations  which  go  to  make 
up  a  Government  case  in  the  event  of  an  alleged 
infraction  of  a  Federal  statute  or  of  any  civil 
cause. 

In  its  work  of  rendering  opinions  for  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments 
on  business  relating  to  their  affairs,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  has  uniformly  held  that  the  At- 
torney General  is  debarred  from  giving  opinions 
on  matters  of  law  to  others  than  the  officials 
named.  It  was  feared  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Republic  that  a  Department  of  Justice,  unless 
strictly  limited  in  this  respect,  might  develop  into 
a  bureau  which  would  be  a  source  of  free  advice 
on  legal  matters  to  citizens  of  the  United  States 
in  general.  In  order  to  avoid  such  embarrass- 
ment, the  Attorneys  General  have  held  strictly  to 
the  law,  even  declining  to  comply  with  the  request 
of  a  committee  of  Congress  for  an  opinion  on  a 
legal  matter. 

It  costs  approximately  $10,000,000  a  year  to 
maintain  the  judicial  branch  of  the  United  States 
Government.  Of  this  $1,000,000  is  expended  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Department  of  Justice  in 
Washington,  another  million  for  the  maintenance 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE    359 

of  prisoners  who  violate  the  laws  of  the  Federal 
Government,  and  $7,000,000  for  the  operations 
of  the  United  States  courts.  An  average  of  more 
than  2,500  prisoners  are  maintained  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Federal  Government  all  the  time, 
exclusive  of  those  kept  in  county  jails  pending 
trial  and  under  sentence  for  minor  offenses. 
About  1,500  are  sentenced  to  prison  each  year, 
and  a  like  number  are  discharged  in  that  time. 
Of  these  approximately  1,200  are  discharged  by 
the  expiration  of  their  sentences.  Approximately 
600  applications  for  pardon  come  up  each  year. 
The  President  considers  about  two-thirds  of  these 
cases.  He  unconditionally  pardons  a  few  and 
commutes  the  sentences  of  over  a  hundred.  It 
costs  the  United  States  Government  about  $200  a 
year  to  maintain  each  of  its  prisoners.  The  De- 
partment of  Justice  operates  a  criminal  identifi- 
cation bureau  and  has  upward  of  26,000  Bertillion 
records  and  20,000  finger-print  records  of  crimi- 
nals, great  and  petty,  in  the  United  States.  In 
a  single  year  it  was  able  to  identify  some  800 
criminals  by  these  records. 

In  connection  with  the  Federal  prisoners  in 
Alaska  an  interesting  question  has  long  been 
pending.  It  is  the  custom  there  that  when  a  per- 
son without  means  is  found  badly  wounded  or 
with  frozen  limbs  to  charge  him  with  vagrancy  in 
order  that  he  may,  as  a  United  States  prisoner, 
receive  the  necessary  medical  and  surgical  atten- 
tion at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  the  appro- 


360    THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

priation  for  support  of  prisoners  being  charged 
with  the  expense.  The  Department  of  Justice  feels 
that  the  Federal  Government  ought  not  to  be 
burdened  with  the  care  of  these  people,  hospital 
bills  frequently  running  as  high  as  $1,000  per 
person.  The  Alaska  judges  declare  that  these 
victims  are  vagrants  and  that  it  would  be  inhuman 
not  to  give  them  necessary  treatment. 

One  of  the  principal  duties  of  the  Department 
of  Justice  is  that  of  defending  suits  brought 
against  the  Government  in  the  Court  of  Claims 
and  in  the  district  and  circuit  courts  of  the  United 
States.  Nearly  6,000  cases  were  disposed  of  dur- 
ing the  year  1910  under  the  general  jurisdiction 
of  the  courts.  The  amount  claimed  in  these  cases 
was  over  $3,600,000;  the  amount  awarded  by  the 
courts  was  slightly  over  $500,000.  The  claims 
referred  to  the  Court  of  Claims  by  Congress 
amounted  to  $11,730,000;  the  court  awarded  the 
claimants  $903,000. 

The  large  growth  in  volume  of  new  legislation 
with  relation  to  the  regulation  of  corporations 
under  the  interstate-commerce  clause  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  has  greatly  multiplied  and  ex- 
panded the  activities  of  the  Department  of  Justice. 
The  number  of  suits  which  it  is  called  upon  to 
prosecute  and  to  defend  have  been  increasing 
from  year  to  year,  and  the  officials  of  the  depart- 
ment forecast  that  the  volume  of  business  will 
continue  to  grow  in  increasing  ratio. 

While  the  department  is  usually  able  to  com- 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE    361 

mand  the  services  of  efficient  lawyers  in  the  prose- 
cution of  its  suits  against  great  corporations,  it 
is  frequently  found  that  these  corporations  are 
ready  to  employ  the  department's  best  men  at 
largely  increased  salaries.  Some  of  these  special 
attorneys  do  accept  positions  with  the  corpora- 
tions and  leave  the  Government  service.  Others, 
however,  stick  to  the  department  in  spite  of  the 
allurements  of  large  salary  offers,  and  sometimes 
find  a  rich  reward  for  doing  so.  Only  a  few 
months  ago  Judge  W.  S.  Kenyon  was  the  "chief 
trust  buster"  of  the  department  and  stayed  with 
his  work  in  spite  of  large  salaries  offered  him  in 
the  commercial  world.  His  reward  came  in  the 
shape  of  an  election  to  the  United  States  Senate 
by  the  Legislature  of  Iowa.  It  is  only  in  recent 
years  that  the  Department  has  been  supplied  with 
funds  sufficient  to  command  the  services  of  able 
lawyers  in  the  prosecution  of  individual  suits. 
Under  a  more  liberal  policy  on  the  part  of  Con- 
gress in  this  direction  a  number  of  epoch-making 
decisions  on  the  interstate-commerce  laws  of  the 
country  have  been  rendered. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE   PAN"   AMERICAN"   "UNION". 

An"  eloquent  testimonial  of  the  deep  interest 
which  the  United  States  feels  in  the  welfare  of  the 
20  other  Republics  of  the  western  world,  the  Pan 
American  Union,  with  headquarters  in  Washing- 
ton, is  a  unique  international  institution.  Organ- 
ized for  the  purpose  of  promoting  commercial 
intercourse  between  the  21  American  Republics, 
each  of  which  contributes  to  its  maintenance  in 
proportion  to  its  population,  its  work  has  ex- 
panded and  its  activities  have  widened  until 
to-day  it  is  one  of  the  leading  factors  in  promot- 
ing trade  and  increasing  the  bonds  of  friendship 
which  tend  to  unite  all  of  the  countries  from  the 
Canadian  border  to  Cape  Horn. 

This  interest  of  the  United  States  Government 
in  her  sister  Republics  began  when  America  was 
young.  When  James  Monroe  was  President  he 
boldly  announced  that  the  safety  and  welfare  of 
the  United  States  made  it  necessary  that  no  coun- 
try of  the  Old  World  should  acquire  another  foot 
of  territory  in  the  New  World,  whether  by  pur- 
chase, conquest,  or  otherwise;  and  that  attempts 
to  do  so  would  be  regarded  as  acts  of  unwar- 

362 


THE  PAN  AMEEICAN  UNION       363 

ranted  aggression.  The  nations  of  Europe  were 
astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  new  Republic  of 
the  west  in  thus  serving  notice  upon  them  that 
they  must  keep  hands  off  of  American  territory, 
but  they  decided  that  it  would  be  best  for  them 
to  acquiesce  in  this  attitude  of  the  United  States, 
and  so  the  Monroe  doctrine  has  become  one  of  the 
principles  of  international  law  tacitly  recognized 
by  all  nations.  To  this  doctrine  the  majority  of 
the  Latin  American  Republics  owe  their  political 
existence.  Under  it  the  United  States  stands  as 
sponsor  for  practically  the  entire  western  world 
south  of  the  Canadian  boundary. 

Bound  together  by  so  many  ties  it  is  but  natural 
that  the  21  American  Republics  should  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  the  political  and  commercial  welfare 
of  the  whole  American  continent.  This  interest 
will  be  enhanced  by  the  building  of  the  Panama 
Canal,  which  will  vastly  benefit  them  all  and  make 
even  more  essential  close  bonds  of  friendship  be- 
tween them.  This  growing  interest  finds  concrete 
expression  in  the  increasing  influence  of  the  Pan 
American  Union.  The  union  has  its  existence  by 
common  consent  and  cooperation,  and  its  admin- 
istration and  duties  are  fixed  by  the  periodic  Pan 
American  conferences  held  in  the  capitals  of  the 
various  countries,  to  which  all  of  the  countries 
interested  send  delegates. 

The  affairs  of  the  Pan  American  Union  are  con- 
trolled by  a  governing  board  composed  of  the 
diplomatic  representatives  in  "Washington  of  the 


364     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

other  American  nations  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States.  The  affairs  of  the 
union  are  administered  by  a  Director  General, 
an  assistant  director,  and  a  corps  of  specially 
trained  assistants.  The  union  is  devoted  to  the 
development  and  conservation  of  commerce  and 
friendly  intercourse  and  good  understanding 
among  the  American  Republics.  It  was  originally 
organized  some  20  years  ago  as  a  result  of  the 
action  of  the  first  Pan  American  conference  held 
in  Washington  during  the  autumn  and  winter  of 
1889-90.  This  famous  gathering  was  presided 
over  by  James  G.  Blaine,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
who  long  had  advocated  such  close  union  between 
the  21  Republics  as  to  make  them  one  great  and 
happy  family  of  people.  One  of  his  dreams  was 
of  a  Pan  American  railway,  to  unite  the  capitals 
of  all  of  the  American  Republics  and  to  stimulate 
commercial  and  social  intercourse  so  that  an  era 
of  understanding  between  the  various  peoples 
would  inevitably  follow. 

This  first  Pan  American  conference  was  at- 
tended by  eminent  delegates  from  all  of  the  coun- 
tries, and  passed  a  resolution  providing  for  a 
^'Commercial  Bureau  of  the  American  Republics'' 
which  should  collect  and  distribute  commercial 
and  general  information  among  them  in  such  a 
way  as  not  only  to  foster  the  exchange  of  trade, 
but  to  remove  the  great  ignorance  of  each  other 
vhich  existed  among  their  respective  peoples.  At 
each  of  the  succeeding  Pan  American  conferences 


COURT  IN  PAN-AMERICAN  BUILDING. 


THE  PAN  AMERICAN  UNION      365 

the  activities  and  consequent  opportunities  for 
usefulness  of  the  Pan  American  Union  have  been 
enlarged.  Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  work 
of  the  union  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
in  four  years  the  number  of  letters  written  per 
month  increased  from  700  to  7,000.  In  the  same 
length  of  time  the  number  of  printed  publications 
distributed  increased  from  60,000  to  600,000.  No 
one  has  been  able  adequately  to  measure  in  money 
values  the  great  growth  of  trade  that  has  been 
brought  about  by  the  work  of  the  union.  But  a 
careful  compilation  of  easily  traced  direct  results 
shows  that  the  work  of  this  institution  has  re- 
sulted in  a  $50,000,000  a  year  increase  in  trade 
between  the  various  countries  supporting  it.  The 
indirect  returns  have  certainly  represented  a  far 
greater  success  even  than  this.  Yet  all  of  this 
"work  has  been  done  upon  an  annual  expenditure 
"which  has  never  before  amounted  to  as  much  as 
to-day,  and  which  is  now  approximately  $125,000. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  activity  of  the 
union,  and  certainly  one  which  has  been  a  great 
factor  in  awakening  the  people  of  Latin  America 
to  the  possibilities  of  their  countries  and  to  the 
advantages  to  be  reaped  from  closer  union  with 
the  United  States,  has  been  the  monthly  magazine 
of  the  Pan  American  Union.  This  publication 
carries  200  pages  of  matter  a  month,  which,  in 
quality,  value  of  material,  character  of  paper  and 
type,  number  of  illustrations,  and  size,  compares 
favorably  with  the  best  of  the  popular  magazines 


366     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

of  to-day.  Instead  of  being  a  dry-as-dust  public 
document,  it  is  a  live,  twentieth-century  maga- 
zine, dealing  with  the  progress  and  development 
of  the  21  American  Republics. 

Its  travel  and  descriptive  articles  are  second 
to  none  published  in  the  current  literature  of  the 
day.  There  are  a  thousand  and  one  things  about 
Latin  America  which  are  not  known  by  the  aver- 
age reader,  and  which  are  of  surpassing  interest. 
Likewise  this  magazine  carries  to  Latin  America 
messages  from  the  United  States,  evidence  of  our 
interest  in  them  which  serves  well  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  founded.  The  Pan  American 
magazine  is  a  unique  publication  in  that  it  carries 
no  advertisements ;  it  is  even  more  unique  in  that 
it  is  a  public  document  and  yet  partakes  of  none 
of  the  characteristics  of  such  a  document  except 
that  of  accuracy.  It  also  has  the  original  char- 
acteristic of  being  printed  in  four  language  edi- 
tions; in  English  for  circulation  in  the  United 
States,  in  Spanish  for  the  19  Spanish-speaking 
Republics,  in  Portuguese  for  Brazil,  and  in  French 
for  Haiti  and  general  European  circulation.  Fif- 
teen thousand  copies  are  issued  monthly,  and 
although  a  regular  subscription  price  is  charged 
for  it,  the  demand  is  larger  than  the  supply. 

Perhaps  the  best  library  on  Latin  American 
subjects  anywhere  to  be  found  is  that  possessed 
by  the  Pan  American  Union  and  known  as  the 
Columbus  Memorial  Library.  This  library  now 
contains  approximately  20,000  volumes,  composed 


THE  PAN  AMEEICAN  UNION       367 

mainly  of  books  relating  to  the  American  Re- 
publics. There  is  a  large  reading  room  where  all 
of  the  leading  publications  of  Latin  America  are 
kept,  and  where  the  newspapers  of  those  countries 
are  constantly  filed,  and  prove  a  great  boon  to  the 
homesick  Latin  American  whose  business  brings 
him  to  Washington  and  the  United  States  with  in- 
creasing frequency. 

The  20  Latin  American  Republics,  which,  with 
the  United  States,  support  the  Pan  American 
Union,  occupy  about  9,000,000  square  miles  of 
territory,  or  three  times  the  area  of  the  United 
States.  They  have  already,  in  the  beginning  of 
their  industrial  development,  70,000,000  people. 
They  conduct  now  an  annual  foreign  commerce 
valued  at  more  than  $2,000,000,000.  One-half  of 
this  business  has  grown  up  in  a  single  decade. 
The  tremendous  "boost"  which  the  completion  of 
the  Panama  Canal  promises  to  give  to  Latin 
America  will  probably  quadruple  this  great  vol- 
ume of  business  in  less  than  a  single  generation. 
The  immensity  of  the  country  represented  by  the 
Pan  American  Union  is  emphasized  by  the  fact 
that  if  a  merchant  vessel  steamed  out  of  New 
Orleans  Harbor  and  sailed  around  Pan  America 
to  San  Diego,  Cal.,  its  log  would  show  15,000 
miles,  or  nearly  five  times  the  distance  across  the 
Atlantic.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  man  inspired 
by  the  wanderlust  wished  to  make  the  unusual 
journey  across  the  widest  portion  of  South  Amer- 
ica from  Pernambuco,  Brazil,  by  way  of  the  north- 


368    THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

ern  coast  of  Brazil,  the  Amazon  River,  and  over 
the  Andes  to  Guayaquil,  Ecuador,  he  would  be 
obliged  to  travel  approximately  3,500  miles.  As 
he  entered  and  sailed  up  the  Amazon,  he  would 
discover  that  the  river  empties  into  the  Atlantic 
with  a  flood  four  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  so  that  steamships  as  large  as 
the  Lusitania  can  navigate  it  a  thousand  miles, 
while  the  largest  vessel  which  loads  and  unloads 
at  the  docks  at  New  Orleans  may  ascend  still 
another  thousand  miles  farther  to  the  city  of 
Iquitos,  Peru. 

The  possibilities  of  Latin  America  in  the  future 
are  beyond  forecast.  The  little  mountainous  Re- 
public of  Salvador  has  a  population  in  propor- 
tion to  area  eight  times  as  great  as  that  of  the 
United  States.  But  assuming  that  Latin  America 
may  only  become  as  populous  as  the  United 
States  is  to-day,  the  total  population  of  the  20 
Republics  would  then  aggregate  270,000,000 
people,  or  nearly  four  times  as  many  as  they 
possess  to-day.  The  Latin  America  of  the  future 
promises  to  be  one  of  the  world's  greatest  food- 
producing  regions,  and  to  possess  a  wealth  which 
will  make  even  that  of  the  United  States  to-day 
look  small  in  comparison. 

The  Pan  American  Union  is  housed  in  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  many  beautiful  buildings  in 
the  city  of  Washington.  In  its  architecture  it  dif- 
fers widely  from  that  of  any  other  building  in 
the  National  Capital.    Since  20  of  the  21  Ameri- 


THE  PAN  AMERICAN  UNION       369 

can  Republics  are  of  Latin  origin,  the  general 
style  of  the  building  fittingly  suggests  Latin 
American  treatment,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
harmonizes  with  the  general  tone  of  architecture 
that  is  symbolical  of  the  new  Washington  and 
which  has  found  its  latest  verification  in  the  Cor- 
coran Gallery  of  Art,  the  Municipal  Building,  and 
the  Union  Station.  The  building  is  a  monument 
to  the  munificence  of  Andrew  Carnegie,  who  con- 
tributed three-fourths  of  the  $1,000,000  required 
to  build  it,  and  to  the  energy  of  Director  General 
John  Barrett,  who  developed  it.  The  remaining 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars  was  contributed  by 
the  21  Republics  forming  the  Union.  The  United 
States  Government  purchased  the  land  for  $250,- 
000  and  donated  it.  The  construction  of  this  per- 
manent home  of  the  Pan  American  Union  has 
made  Washington  an  international  Capital  of  the 
21  American  nations.  The  building  was  designed 
to  be  the  home  of  the  American  Republics  in  the 
highest  sense  of  the  word.  Every  one  of  these 
Republics  has  its  private  home  in  the  residence 
of  its  ambassador  or  minister,  but  the  Pan 
American  Union  was  designed  to  be  the  home  of 
all  of  them,  where  their  representatives  may  meet 
as  children  in  the  house  of  their  fathers  to  dis- 
cuss all  questions  which  may  arise,  to  celebrate 
public  events,  or  to  commemorate  glorious  days. 
It  was,  therefore,  determined  to  make  the  build- 
ing nearer  the  type  of  a  residence  than  the  im- 
personal public  building,  although  it  should  still 


370     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

possess  that  dignity  wliicli  the  subject  demands. 
It  was  the  hope  of  the  Director  General  that  when, 
the  representatives  of  the  various  countries 
passed  the  threshold  they  should  have  the  im- 
pression of  entering  their  own  homes ;  that  when 
the  vestibule  or  staircase  and  the  large  assembly 
hall  should  shine  with  thousands  of  electric  lights 
as  a  brilliant  gathering  thronged  the  rooms  to 
honor  a  distinguished  visitor,  the  representatives 
of  the  21  Republics  might  have  the  impression 
of  receiving  guests  in  their  own  residences  and 
not  in  a  commonplace  meeting  room. 

Latin  American  influence  in  the  architecture 
of  this  remarkable  and  beautiful  building  finds 
its  most  tj^pical  expression  in  the  patio,  over  50 
feet  square,  in  the  central  part  of  the  front  sec- 
tion of  the  building.  In  this  the  visitor  seems 
translated  to  some  strange  foreign  scene,  quaint 
and  remote.  Here  the  effect  of  tropical  summer 
is  maintained  throughout  the  year.  This  large 
patio  is  covered  with  a  glass  roof,  built  in  two 
sections,  which  are  operated  noiselessly  by  elec- 
tricity and  constructed  so  as  to  slide  back  over 
the  adjacent  flat  roof  of  the  staircase  when  it  is 
desired  to  have  the  patio  open.  In  the  colder 
months  the  glass  roof  is  kept  closed,  and  the 
steam  heat  gives  to  the  patio  the  warmth  of  trop- 
ical sunshine,  while  in  the  summer  months  this 
roof  is  kept  open  and  permits  the  air  above  to 
descend  unobstructed.  In  the  patio  one  encoun- 
ters   a    large   garden    of   everblooming   tropical 


THE  PAN  AMEEICAN  UNION      371 

flowers.  The  fronds  of  great  palms  form  the 
graceful  culmination  of  a  diversity  of  exotic  foli- 
age and  southern  bloom.  The  unique  fountain  in 
the  center  flows  all  the  year.  It  suggests  the  Al- 
hambra  and  remote  Moorish  days  in  Spain. 

Well-lighted  offices  for  the  Director  General 
and  his  staff  open  off  of  the  patio,  and  at  one  end 
is  the  great  assembly  chamber,  which  is  called 
*'the  Hall  of  the  Eepublics  American,"  the  only; 
room  of  its  kind  ever  built  especially  for  inter- 
national conventions  and  social  events.  Commit- 
tee rooms  are  set  aside  for  important  confer- 
ences, and  in  every  particular  the  place  is 
designed  to  meet  the  needs  for  which  it  was  built. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  authorities  of  the  Pan 
American  Union  to  use  funds  donated  for  the 
purpose  by  Andrew  Carnegie  to  convert  the  5 
acres  of  ground  surrounding  the  Pan  American 
building  into  an  international  garden  full  of  sig- 
nificant ideas  and  suggestions,  so  as  to  poetize 
the  site  and  make  it  a  place  apart,  inspiring  and 
beautiful.  The  grounds  will  be  inclosed,  but  a 
spacious  formal  court  in  front  is  to  be  given  an 
inviting  air  of  freedom  and  openness,  so  that  not 
until  one  penetrates  to  the  rear  will  he  fall  under 
the  spell  of  absolute  detachment.  Once  there, 
however,  the  isolation  will  be  complete.  The  gar- 
den house  at  the  extreme  rear  will  shut  out  for 
all  time  a  distracting  view  of  the  few  factories 
that  have  already  crept  into  this  favored  neigh-' 
borhood.     It  will  become  an  out-of-door  apart- 


372    THE  AMEEICAN  GOVERNMENT 

ment,  with  its  walls  as  richly  foliated  as  the  giant 
hedges  of  the  famous  Borda  Gardens  at  Cuer- 
navaca,  Mexico,  and  its  floor  will  have  a  fine 
green  carpet  divided  by  a  long  transparent  pool, 
at  the  end  of  which  a  beautiful  coral  reef  of  trans- 
lucent marble  will  define  itself  and  make  all 
beholders  feel  something  of  the  lure  and  charm 
of  tropic  seas.  Phosphorescent  marvels  will 
appear  and  disappear  and  make  it  a  scene  of 
entrancing  beauty.  It  is  probable  that  when  the 
work  on  the  grounds  of  the  Pan  American  Build- 
ing is  completed  they  will  be  the  most  beautiful 
in  the  entire  National  Capital. 

One  of  the  great  schemes  in  which  the  Pan 
American  Union  is  interested  is  in  the  building 
of  the  Pan  American  Railway.  It  is  the  hope  of 
every  high  official  of  Latin  America  that  the 
day  will  come  when  Buenos  Aires  and  Washing- 
ton will  be  connected  by  rail.  Link  by  link  this 
hope  is  being  realized.  One  is  now  practically 
able  to  go  from  Washington  to  Guatemala  City 
by  rail,  and  construction  work  is  now  being  car- 
ried forward  which  will  enable  the  traveler  to 
journey  from  Guatemala  City  to  La  Union,  Sal- 
vador. A  railroad  is  being  constructed  from 
Panama  to  the  westernmost  part  of  the  Republic 
of  Panama,  and  a  large  part  of  the  distance  from 
that  point  to  La  Union  is  now  covered  by  links 
of  railways,  the  gaps  between  which  will  some 
time  be  filled  in.  Of  course,  few  people  who  have 
traveled  once  from  the  Guatemalan  frontier  to 


THE  PAN  AMERICAN  UNION       373 

"Washington  by  rail  will  desire  to  make  the  same 
journey  a  second  time,  since  the  water  trip  is 
cheaper,  almost  as  quick,  and  certainly  a  more 
pleasant  one.  But  the  effect  of  such  connection 
between  Panama  and  Washington  will  be  such  as 
probably  will  hasten  the  construction  of  the  con- 
necting links  between  Panama  and  Buenos  Aires. 
It  is  not  probable  that  at  an  early  date  it  will  be 
possible  to  make  the  journey  from  Washington 
to  Buenos  Aires  without  break,  but  when  Latin 
America  reaches  that  state  of  development  to 
which  the  United  States  already  has  attained,  it 
is  certain  that  one  may  travel  where  he  will  be- 
tween the  capital  of  the  northernmost  country  of 
North  America  to  that  of  the  southernmost 
country  of  South  America  by  rail. 

The  officers  of  the  Pan  American  Union,  all  of 
whom  have  been  in  intimate  touch  with  the  affairs 
of  Latin  America  during  the  past  decade  or  more, 
believe  that  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  is 
destined  to  be  followed  by  an  era  of  development 
and  prosperity  that  will  affect  even  the  remotest 
of  the  nations  of  the  New  World.  They  also 
believe  that  it  will  result  in  the  United  States 
assuming  a  commanding  position  in  their  trade 
relations  and  in  enabling  the  Pan  American 
Union  to  scatter  broadcast  the  seed  of  oppor- 
tunity, from  which  the  American  manufacturer 
will  reap  a  rich  harvest. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  NATIONAL   CAPITAL. 

The  District  of  Columbia,  permanent  seat  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
is  the  smallest  political  division  of  the  country. 
The  city  of  Washington  is  merely  the  name  of  a 
geographical  section  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
although  residents  of  the  entire  District  are  in 
the  habit  of  regarding  themselves  as  residents 
of  Washington.  The  city  proper  embraces  about 
one-seventh  of  the  total  area  of  the  District. 

It  is  absolutely  unique  among  the  cities  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  the  most  American  because 
its  population  is  made  up  of  people  from  all  the 
States,  and  yet  it  is  not  American  at  all,  for  the 
reason  that  its  residents  can  not  vote.  It  is  the 
most  cosmopolitan  because  representatives  of  all 
other  nations  dwell  in  it,  yet  it  has  no  foreign 
quarter.  Washington's  greatest  industry  is  gov- 
ernment, and  its  greatest  product  is  politics,  but 
the  issues  are  all  national.  It  is  the  only  Ameri- 
can city  where  there  is  no  local  party  politics ;  in 
fact,  it  is  the  only  city  of  the  civilized  world 
which  can  not  choose  any  of  its  local  officers  by 
vote.    The  President  appoints  the  executive  and 

374 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  375 

judicial  officers,  and  Congress,  sitting  as  a  City 
Council,  "exercises  exclusive  legislation."  De- 
spite the  anomalous  spectacle  presented  by  the 
Capital  city  of  a  democratic  country  being  gov- 
erned in  theory  by  an  autocracy,  the  people  are 
content,  public  opinion  rules,  and  the  city  itself 
is  a  masterful  argument  for  the  continuation  of 
the  present  plan. 

As  it  is  now  constituted,  the  executive  govern- 
ment of  the  District  is  intrusted  to  three  com- 
missioners, one  of  whom  must  be  an  officer  of  at 
least  the  rank  of  major  in  the  Engineer  Corps  of 
the  Army,  or  a  captain  who  has  served  at  least 
15  years  in  tho  Army.  The  commissioners 
administer  the  details  of  government,  prepare 
the  budget,  transmit  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  who,  with  such  changes  as  he  deems 
advisable,  forwards  it  to  Congress,  and  the  com- 
missioners advocate  it  and  other  District  legisla- 
tion before  the  District  of  Columbia  committees. 
Because  of  the  fact  that  the  commissioners  and 
Congress  are  not  directly  responsible  to  the 
people  of  the  District,  a  system  of  expressing 
public  opinion  has  been  developed  in  Washington 
which  is  absolutely  unique.  Under  its  operation 
the  government  is  in  practice,  though  not  in. 
theory,  sensitively  responsive  to  public  opinion, 
being  unafraid  of  elections  and  independent  of 
party  bosses. 

Washington  is  the  most  beautiful  city  in  the 
United  States,  and  is  claimed  by  many  authori- 


376     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

ties  to  have  no  peer  in  the  world.  Paris  has 
more  magnificent  vistas,  but  there  are  quarters 
of  the  French  capital  with  never  a  claim  to 
beauty.  There  are  more  shade  trees  in  Wash- 
ington than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world.  It 
has  92,000  trees,  while  Paris,  the  next  in  the  list, 
has  only  85,000.  It  must  be  remembered  in  this 
connection  that  Paris  has  nearly  3,000,000  popu- 
lation, while  Washington  has  but  330,000. 

The  city  has  275  little  parks  less  than  1  acre  in 
extent,  and  26  others  that  are  more  than  an  acre 
in  size.  There  are  also  10  large  parks  in  the 
central  portion  of  the  city,  the  largest  being  the 
Mall,  reaching  from  the  Botanic  Garden,  at  the 
foot  of  Capitol  Hill,  to  the  Washington  Monu- 
ment, a  distance  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  The 
crowning  glory  of  Washington's  park  system  are 
Rock  Creek  Park  and  the  Zoological  Park,  which 
are  practically  one.  These  have  a  combined  area 
of  1,776  acres.  Rock  Creek  Park  is  not  excelled 
in  beauty  by  any  driving  park  in  the  world. 

Washington  has  a  greater  number  of  institu- 
tions of  learning  than  any  other  city.  Universi- 
ties, training  schools,  finishing  schools,  profes- 
sional schools,  and  preparatory  schools  are 
supplemented  by  the  excellent  public-school  sys- 
tem which  was  started  in  1805.  The  wealthier 
citizens  subscribed  funds  from  their  private 
purses,  but  opened  the  schools  to  all  comers. 
Thomas  Jefferson  was  then  President  of  the 
United  States.    He  was  elected  to  the  board  of 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  377 

education  and  became  its  first  president.  The 
Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Carnegie  Institution, 
the  scientific  bureaus  of  the  Government,  and  the 
great  libraries  in  Washington  attract  scientists 
from  all  over  the  world,  and  there  are  more  men 
actually  engaged  in  scientific  research  there  than 
in  any  other  city  on  the  globe.  The  telegraph  and 
telephone  are  among  the  thousands  of  inventions 
that  have  come  from  the  workshops  of  Washing- 
ton scientists. 

More  negroes  live  in  Washington  than  in  any 
other  city,  approximately  100,000  of  the  total 
population  of  330,000  being  of  African  descent. 
Many  Washington  negroes  are  among  the  most 
advanced  of  their  race,  and  Washington  is  the 
only  city  where  there  is  a  distinct  Afro-American 
society  which  applies  the  standards  of  American 
morals  and  manners  to  its  own  conduct.  The 
negroes  are  represented  on  the  school  board,  hold 
places  of  honor  and  profit  under  the  District 
government,  and  enjoy  equality  before  the  law. 

Much  has  been  written  about  social  usages  in 
Washington,  and  if  one  who  had  never  visited 
the  city  formed  his  notions  of  it  from  reading 
such  articles,  he  would  imagine  a  city  noisy  with 
the  rush  of  carriages  from  dinner  to  dinner,  and 
whose  streets  were  cushioned  with  a  debris  of 
visiting  cards  from  morning  calls.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  are  some  few  people  in  Washington 
who  do  observe  with  punctilious  care  all  the 
demands  of  official  etiquette.     There  are  others 


378     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

who  observe  such  of  these  rules  as  they  choose, 
and  still  others  whose  social  activity  is  sporadic. 
And  then  there  are  some  300,000  who  live  wholly 
without  the  pale  of  what  is  called  ''society." 

The  conundrum,  *'When  is  a  lion  not  a  lion?" 
finds  its  answer  in  Washington.  Men  who  have 
attained  prominence  and  fame  are  so  common 
that  no  one  turns  on  the  streets  to  see  a  great 
Cabinet  minister  or  a  Senator.  Celebrities  who 
fill  columns  of  the  newspapers  when  they  visit 
other  American  cities  go  in  and  out  among  the 
Washingtonians  day  after  day  without  attracting 
notice.  The  Presiaent  alone  is  enough  of  a  hero 
to  command  the  attention  of  the  people  in  the 
street. 

The  "Washington  hotels  and  boarding  houses 
are  characteristic.  They  are  parceled  out,  in  a 
fashion,  among  the  States.  A  man  from  Maine 
will  go  to  the  Hotel  Hamilton,  for  there  he  will 
find  other  men  from  Maine.  While  the  Ebbitt 
House  is  officially  sacred  to  the  Army  and  Navy, 
Tennesseeans  also  have  made  it  their  headquarters 
for  years.  So  in  the  boarding  houses.  A  land- 
lady who  affects  corn  bread  and  hot  biscuits  will 
have  a  Southern  clientele,  and  the  fame  of  a 
boarding  house  where  brown  bread  and  beans  may 
be  had,  flanked  with  the  sacred  cod,  will  attract 
the  Bostonian.  In  some  boarding  houses  there 
are  State  tables,  all  the  boarders  from  Georgia 
being  grouped  about  one  table,  those  from  Illi- 
nois   at   another.     This   is    the    last    surviving 


lillllMlilllltlltilllMIHitlililiilltllMII 


mk^.- 


.„^^^^^ 


PENNSYLVANIA  AVENUE  FROM  THE  TKEASUUY, 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  379 

reminder  of  the  congressional  ''messes"  of  the 
early  days  of  the  Republic. 

There  is  in  Washington  a  colony  of  wealthy 
Americans  who  have  no  connection  whatever  with 
the  business  of  government  or  of  politics.  Million- 
aires choose  Washington  for  their  winter  resi- 
dence, and  erect  magnificent  mansions,  which  are 
occupied  for  only  a  few  months  of  the  year. 
Some  of  these  have  cost  more  than  a  million  dol- 
lars, and  a  few  which  approach  the  million  mark 
are  now  in  course  of  construction.  A  rental  of 
$50,000  a  year  was  offered  for  one  of  the  Washing- 
ton palaces  not  long  since,  and  refused.  For  some 
the  glamor  of  the  American  court  is  the  attrac- 
tion, for  others  the  knowledge  that  the  gates  swing 
inward  for  the  stranger  more  readily  here  than 
in  other  cities,  and  for  still  others  the  advantage 
of  beautiful  surroundings  which  Washington  so 
richly  affords. 

The  clubs  in  Washington  are  of  really  great 
importance.  At  the  Metropolitan  Club,  the  men 
who  mold  the  affairs  of  the  Nation  are  wont  to 
talk  things  over  in  man-to-man  fashion.  The 
Cosmos  Club  is  the  largest  scientific  club  in  the 
world.  Its  membership  includes  the  greatest  in- 
ventors and  investigators  of  the  scientific  world, 
and  its  fine  old  house,  once  owned  and  occupied 
by  Dolly  Madison,  is  the  social  clearing  house  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Carnegie 
Institution.  Chevy  Chase  Country  Club  is  most 
brilliant  socially  and  the  Army  and  Navy  Club  is 


g80     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

a  great  organization.  The  National  Press  Club 
is  the  representative  newspaper  club  of  the  world. 
Its  membership  is  the  most  cosmopolitan  and  its 
influence  the  most  extensive  of  any  similar  organ- 
ization in  existence. 

Washington  has  not  always  been  the  beautiful 
Capital,  political  center,  and  the  scene  of  social 
activities  that  it  is  to-day.  In  the  beginning  little 
attention  was  paid  to  the  needs  of  the  District. 
Congress  refused  to  appropriate  money  to  erect 
public  buildings,  and  the  commissioners  were 
forced  to  borrow  from  the  States,  Virginia  loan- 
ing $120,000  and  Maryland  $72,000.  Congress 
again  refusing  to  vote  money,  Maryland  let  the 
new  National  Capital  have  another  $100,000,  but 
only  on  the  personal  security  of  the  commission- 
ers. In  those  days  the  public  credit  was  poor 
indeed.  The  Union  was  only  an  experiment,  and 
the  Constitution  was  an  untried  and  sorely  mis- 
trusted instrument.  Few  men  thought  that  the 
States  would  stick  together.  When  Mr.  Jefferson 
was  President  he  offered  to  give  a  fine  building 
square  on  Sixteenth  Street,  which  extends  north 
from  the  front  of  the  White  House,  to  any  Euro- 
pean nation  that  would  erect  a  legation  build- 
ing. Not  one  of  the  countries  of  the  world 
thought  that  the  United  States  would  amount 
to  enough  to  justify  the  building  of  a  lega- 
tion at  Washington,  and  no  one  accepted  the 
offer.  Recently  Germany  paid  $125,000  for  a  site 
for  an  embassy  building  on  the  same  street.   Had 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  381 

Jefferson's  offer  been  accepted  by  the  nations, 
Sixteenth  Street,  the  handsomest  of  boulevards, 
would  have  been  to-day  the  Avenue  of  the  Ambas- 
sadors. Now  it  is  proposed  to  change  the  name 
to  the  Avenue  of  the  Presidents,  because  every 
President  since  Adams  has  looked  out  from  his 
windows  on  its  beautiful  sweep  to  Boundary  Hill. 

The  rivalry  between  the  North  and  the  South 
was  marked  in  those  early  days,  and  the  question 
of  the  location  of  the  Federal  District  was  debated 
with  heat  and  earnestness.  The  Northern  States 
in  Congress,  led  by  Alexander  Hamilton,  favored 
the  assumption  of  the  Eevolutionary  War  debts 
of  the  States  by  the  Federal  Government.  The 
Southern  States  opposed  the  assumption. 

Thomas  Jefferson  met  Alexander  Hamilton  on 
the  street.  Hamilton  appealed  to  Jefferson  to 
aid  him  in  passing  the  assumption  bill.  Jefferson 
gave  a  dinner.  At  the  dinner  table  it  was  agreed 
that  a  sufficient  number  of  Southern  Congressmen 
would  vote  to  assume  the  State  debts,  if  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  Hamilton 's  followers  would  agree 
to  the  location  of  the  Federal  District  in  the  South. 
The  compromise  was  put  through,  and  Congress 
directed  that  a  seat  of  government  be  selected  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  The  State  of  Mary- 
land ceded  70  square  miles  and  Virginia  gave  30 
square  miles.  In  1846  the  portion  taken  from  Vir- 
ginia, including  the  town  of  Alexandria,  was  retro- 
ceded  to  the  State,  and  the  District  of  Columbia 
:was  reduced  to  its  present  area. 


382     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

Alexander  R.  Shepherd,  a  plumber  by  trade, 
first  a  member  of  the  board  of  public  works  and 
then  governor,  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  new 
government  under  the  reorganization  acts  of  1871. 
If  Washington  was  the  founder.  Shepherd  was 
the  builder  of  the  Capital  City.  He  found  it  a 
straggling  town  without  a  comprehensive  system 
of  public  improvements,  and  left  it  well  on  its  way 
toward  being  the  most  beautiful  city  of  the  world. 

Disregarding  the  protests  of  citizens,  he  tore 
away  an  unsightly  market  house  and  made  a  park 
of  the  space.  He  filled  up  the  miasmatic  open 
sewer  that  had  been  the  canal  of  earlier  days,  and 
turned  the  water  of  Tiber  Creek  into  a  great 
sewer.  In  less  than  two  years  he  paved  40  miles 
of  street  with  wood  and  50  miles  with  gravel.  He 
laid  13  miles  of  sewers  and  14  miles  of  water 
mains.  The  wooden  pavements  were  a  failure  and 
soon  had  to  be  replaced  with  asphalt,  but  once 
there  was  a  pavement  the  people  would  not  con- 
sent to  return  to  the  mud  lanes  which  had  dis- 
graced the  Capital  so  many  years. 

The  oldest  residence  in  the  city  of  "Washington, 
the  one  whose  walls  have  housed  the  men  who 
have  given  America  its  storied  past,  and  which 
are  still  bound  up  in  our  dreams  of  a  glorious 
future,  is  the  White  House.  When  it  was  pro- 
vided for  in  the  original  design  of  the  city  it  was 
known  as  The  Palace.  When  it  was  first  built  it 
was  "The  President's  House."  After  it  was 
burned  by  the  British  it  was  painted  white,  and  in 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  383 

popular  parlance  was  soon  called  by  its  now 
familiar  name,  although  officially  it  was  known  aa 
**The  Executive  Mansion"  until  Mr.  Roosevelt 
became  its  occupant.  The  White  House  it  is  now, 
and  ever  shall  be,  for  there  is  so  much  of  history 
and  legend  in  the  old  name  that  it  will  always  be 
retained. 

In  the  third  year  of  General  Washington's 
administration  as  President,  a  prize  of  $500  was 
offered  for  the  best  design  for  a  house  for  the 
President.  James  Hoban,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
but  then  a  resident  of  South  Carolina,  was  the 
successful  competitor.  His  plans  closely  copied 
the  design  of  the  house  of  the  Duke  of  Leinster 
in  Dublin.  Originally  he  planned  a  three-story 
structure,  susceptible  of  being  extended  by  means 
of  wings  and  colonnades.  General  Washington 
liked  the  idea,  but  the  public  was  aghast  at  such 
magnificence.  The  republican  sentiment  pre- 
vailed, the  plans  were  simplified,  and  the  well- 
known,  two-story  building  of  few  rooms  was  the 
result.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  by  Washing- 
ton in  1792  and  the  house  was  completed  in  1799. 
It  was  first  occupied  by  John  Adams  in  1800,  and 
his  good  wife  Abigail  hung  out  the  family  wash- 
ing in  the  East  Room.  Every  President  since 
Adams  has  lived  there  and  had  his  office  there, 
until  President  Roosevelt  had  an  office  building 
constructed  to  the  west  of  it.  Under  its  roof  have 
been  administered  the  policies  which  have  resulted 
in  the    growth   of   the    loose   federation   of   13 


384     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

poverty-stricken  Colonies  into  the  mightiest  Na- 
tion of  the  world. 

Burned  in  1814  by  the  British  troops,  the  White 
House  was  rebuilt  without  alteration,  except  that 
the  scorched  sandstone  was  painted.  During  Gen- 
eral Jackson's  administration,  the  northern  por- 
tico, the  one  oftenest  seen  in  pictures,  was  added. 
No  other  important  alterations  were  made  until 
President  Roosevelt's  time,  when  a  half  million 
dollars  was  spent  in  improvements.  When  Mrs. 
Cleveland  came  to  the  White  House  as  a  bride 
she  had  visions  of  entertaining  many  of  her  girl 
friends,  knowing  what  an  event  in  their  lives  it 
would  be,  but  it  could  not  be  done,  for  there  are 
not  enough  sleeping  rooms  at  the  White  House 
to  permit  of  entertaining  more  than  one  or  two 
persons  at  a  time.  Despite  the  fact  that  the  Na- 
tion has  outgrown  the  house,  as  Hoban  and 
Washington  foresaw,  it  is  still  beautiful  and  in 
its  simple  grace  typifies  the  democratic  spirit  of 
the  greatest  of  Republics. 

When  George  Washington  selected  the  site  of 
the  Capital  City,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  persuad- 
ing 18  of  the  landowners  to  turn  over  half  their 
property  to  the  Government  in  consideration  of 
the  enhancement  of  the  value  of  the  half  retained. 
But  with  Davy  Burns,  a  canny  Scot,  who  owned 
a  farm  where  the  White  House  and  Monument 
are  now  situated,  it  was  different.  Washington 
argued  with  Davy  long  and  earnestly.  At  length 
he  said:    **Had  not  the  Federal  City  been  laid 


THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL  385 

out  here  you  would  have  died  a  poor  tobacco 
planter."  Whereat  the  son  of  Caledonia  retorted: 
"Ay  mon,  an'  hed  ye  no  married  the  Widder  Cus- 
tis,  wi'  a'  her  nagurs,  ye'd  hae  been  a  land  sur- 
veyor the  noo,  an'  a  mighty  poor  ane  at  that." 
When  Davy  wouldn't,  Washington  told  him  he 
must,  and  he  consented  with  characteristic  Scotch 
thrift  by  extracting  a  proviso  that  the  site  of  his 
own  cottage  could  not  be  taken  and  that  no  lots 
should  be  sold  for  private  building  in  that 
vicinity. 

Just  before  the  Civil  War  a  writer  in  the  Atlan- 
tic Monthly  said:  ''Washington  is  the  Elysium 
of  oddities,  the  Limbo  of  absurdities,  an  imbroglio 
of  ludicrous  anomalies.  Planned  on  a  scale  of 
surpassing  grandeur,  its  architectural  execution 
is  almost  contemptible.  It  has  a  Monument  that 
will  never  be  finished,  a  Capitol  that  lacks  a  dome, 
and  a  Scientific  Institute  which  does  nothing  but 
report  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  thermometer. ' '  The 
prospect  must  have  been  discouraging  at  that 
time,  but  what  a  change  we  find  to-day.  The  Sci- 
entific Institute,  whose  apparent  inactivity  was 
the  cause  of  such  sarcastic  comment,  has  given  to 
mankind  the  science  of  meteorology.  The  Monu- 
ment is  completed  and  it  is  the  most  imposing 
memorial  ever  raised  by  man  to  the  memory  of 
a  leader  of  men.  The  Capitol  has  been  completed, 
and  its  Dome,  soaring  above  the  clouds,  is 
crowned  with  the  Emblem  of  Freedom  that  sym- 
bolizes the  highest  national  attainments  of  the 


386     THE  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT 

human  race.  And  plans  now  in  process  of  realiza- 
tion promise  to  add  greatly  even  to  the  present 
glory  and  beauty  of  the  Nation's  Capital,  and  to 
make  it  a  seat  of  government  which  will  be  the 
envy  of  all  nations  for  all  time. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

NATIONAL   POLITICAL    CAMPAIGNS. 

The  macliiiiery  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment belongs  to  the  people,  and  in  the  great 
quadrennial  election  it  is  theirs  to  determine 
whether  the  party  in  power  has  given  a  good 
account  of  its  stewardship  or  whether  the  men 
and  policies  of  the  opposite  party  shall  prevail. 
This  great  battle  of  the  ballots  calls  forth  on 
election  day  nearly  16,000,000  American  voters, 
and  represents  the  mightiest  expression  of  popu- 
lar sentiment  of  all  political  history.  Less  than 
90  years  ago  the  popular  vote  in  a  presidential 
election  was  350,000. 

Although  the  method  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
stitution for  the  selection  of  the  President  has 
been  changed  but  once  by  formal  amendment, 
in  practice  there  have  been  many  changes,  with  a 
constant  trend  toward  a  more  direct  control  by 
the  people.  The  Fathers  did  not  intend  that  the 
people  should  have  any  direct  voice  in  choosing 
the  Chief  Magistrate.  They  considered  their  pro- 
vision for  a  popular  choice  of  the  Members  of 
the  House  of  Eepresentatives  a  sufficient  con- 
cession to  democracy. 

In  the  first  presidential  election  nearly  all  of 
the  States  chose  their  electors  by  their  legisla- 
tures.   It  was  not  until  after  the  Civil  War  that 

387 


388       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

all  of  the  States  had  adopted  the  Virginia  plan 
of  choosing  the  electors  by  direct  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  it  was  not  until  1845  that  the  Government 
referred  to  the  popular  vote  for  President  in  a 
law  of  Congress. 

The  first  election  in  which  there  were  rival 
candidates  for  the  Presidency  was  in  1796,  al- 
though there  were  neither  conventions,  nomina- 
tions, nor  platforms.  In  10  of  the  16  States  the 
electors  were  chosen  by  the  legislatures,  while 
in  none  of  them  was  there  a  popular  election  as 
it  is  known  to-day.  Adams  was  elected  over 
Jefferson  by  a  margin  of  3  votes.  In  the  suc- 
ceeding years  it  became  obvious  that  the  political 
organizations  had  become  too  important  and 
comi)licated  to  make  further  control  by  general 
agreement  feasible.  In  the  preliminaries  of  the 
1800  campaign  the  leaders  agreed  to  have  each 
party  make  its  nominations.  The  Federalists  in 
Congress  nominated  Adams  and  Pinckney,  while 
the  Democratic-Republicans  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  in  a  secret  caucus,  nominated  Jefferson 
and  Burr.  Under  the  Constitution,  as  it  then 
existed,  the  man  receiving  the  highest  electoral 
vote,  being  a  majority,  was  declared  elected 
President  and  the  one  receiving  the  next  highest 
vote,  Vice  President.  Jefferson  and  Burr  each 
received  73  votes,  and  the  election  was  thrown 
into  the  House  of  Representatives.  This  led  to 
the  adoption,  in  1804,  of  the  twelfth  amendment 
to  the  Constitution,  providing  for  the  separate 
election  of  President  and  Vice  President. 


NATIONAL  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS    389 

The  method  of  choosing  presidential  candi- 
dates by  congressional  caucuses,  originated  in 
1800,  was  adhered  to  by  both  parties  until  the 
presidential  contest  of  1824.  Early  in  1823,  a 
mass  meeting  was  held  in  the  little  frontier  town 
of  Maryville,  Blount  County,  Tenn.,  which  was 
destined  to  work  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
American  system  of  choosing  presidential  candi- 
dates. This  meeting  advanced  the  idea  that  the 
people  had  a  right  to  choose  their  own  candi- 
dates, and  that  without  regard  to  whether  or  not 
they  were  schooled  in  statecraft.  Up  to  that 
time  every  President  had  been  a  scholar,  trained 
in  public  affairs,  and  representative  of  the  aris- 
tocracy of  the  Nation.  For  all  but  4  of  the  36 
years  the  Presidency  had  been  held  by  members 
of  a  small  clique  of  Virginia  aristocrats,  however 
democratic  any  of  them  might  have  been  in  their 
theories  and  practices. 

This  Blount  County  mass  meeting  also  pro- 
tested vigorously  against  the  choice  of  presiden- 
tial electors  by  the  legislatures,  demanded  their 
selection  by  popular  vote,  and  insisted  upon  the 
abolition  of  property  qualifications  for  suffrage. 
It  ended  its  deliberations  by  nominating  Andrew 
Jackson  for  President.  There  were  four  candi- 
dates in  the  race  of  1824.  By  this  time  all  but  6 
of  the  24  States  had  decided  to  choose  their 
electors  by  direct  vote.  This  was  the  first  presi- 
dential year  in  which  a  record  of  the  popular 
vote  was  kept  and  from  this  time  dates  the  real 
history  of  popular  presidential  campaigns. 


390       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

The  result  of  the  revolt  against  the  caucus 
method  of  nominating  presidential  candidates,  of 
which  the  Blount  County  mass  meeting  was  the 
first  organized  expression,  and  also  of  the  demand 
for  popular  elections,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
neither  party  chose  its  candidates  by  that  method 
in  1828,  and  by  the  further  fact  that  by  that  time 
only  one  State,  South  Carolina,  chose  its  electors 
by  the  legislature. 

The  methods  of  choosing  presidential  candi- 
dates used  in  1828 — by  mass  conventions  and 
State  legislatures — proved  as  unwieldy  and  as 
impracticable  as  their  choice  by  caucus  in  pre- 
vious years  had  proved  unrepresentative.  At 
this  juncture  the  anti-Masonic  Party,  founded  in 
1826,  being  without  representatives  in  the  legis- 
latures and  in  Congress  to  outline  its  principles 
and  to  captain  its  political  battles,  found  it  neces- 
sary to  formulate  a  national  propaganda.  So  a 
delegated  national  nominating  convention  was 
held  in  Baltimore  in  September,  1831.  Both  of 
the  other  parties  of  that  time  followed  suit,  all 
three  of  the  conventions  being  held  in  Baltimore. 
The  National  Republicans  nominated  Clay,  while 
the  Democrats,  finding  Jackson  without  opposi- 
tion in  his  party,  made  no  nomination  for  Presi- 
dent, but  named  Van  Buren  for  second  place. 
The  convention  did,  however,  appoint  a  commit- 
tee of  correspondence — a  committee  which  has 
grown  into  the  modern  national  committee  of 
each  party.  It  also  adopted  a  resolution  requir- 
ing nominations  to  be  made  by  a  two-thirds  vote 


NATIONAL  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS    391 

of  the  convention,  a  rule  that  is  still  in  force  in 
Democratic  conventions  in  spite  of  many  deter- 
mined efforts  to  change  it  so  that  the  choice  may 
be  by  a  majority  vote. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  three  first  dele- 
gated conventions  with  those  now  held  by  the  two 
big  political  parties.  Then  a  thousand  pilgrims 
to  the  convention  city  was  a  great  crowd.  Now  a 
hundred  thousand  is  not  exceptional.  Then  a  few 
letters  by  stage  constituted  the  newspaper  re- 
ports. Now  a  single  big  metropolitan  paper  uses 
as  much  as  70  columns  of  space  in  reporting  a 
convention.  Then  the  telegraph  was  unknown; 
now  the  telegraph  companies  can  handle  all  the 
business  that  comes  their  way.  At  the  Denver 
convention  the  limit  was  10,000  words  for  a  big 
paper;  but  there  is  no  limit  at  such  centers  as 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis.  Then  the  convention  hall 
could  seat  only  a  thousand  or  so;  now,  11,000  is 
the  minimum  and  15,000  the  maximum. 

Then  the  political  badge  had  not  made  its  ap- 
pearance ;  now  it  takes  800  pennyweights  of  gold, 
600  ounces  of  plate,  and  15  miles  of  ribbon  to 
make  the  official  badges  of  a  big  national  conven- 
tion. It  requires  a  thousand  big  flags,  6  miles 
of  red,  white,  and  blue  bunting,  and  other  pa- 
triotic jjaraphernalia  in  proportion,  for  a  single 
convention.  Even  as  late  as  1860  the  cost  of 
nominating  Abraham  Lincoln,  including  music, 
headquarters,  telegrams,  etc.,  was  only  $700; 
to-day  a  single  delegate  may  spend  as  much. 

There  was  another  departure  which  made  the 


392       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

year  1832  a  famous  one  in  political  convention 
history.  A  second  Whig  convention  was  held  in 
Washington,  and  it  adopted  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions which  became  the  first  political  platform 
ever  issued  by  any  party.  Thus  that  campaign 
produced  the  three  distinctive  features  of 
American  politics — the  national  convention,  the 
national  committee,  and  the  national  platform. 

The  Whig  convention  of  1840  was  the  first  to 
adopt  the  so-called  unit  rule,  by  which  the  solid 
vote  of  a  State  is  cast  for  the  candidate  having 
a  majority  of  the  votes  in  the  State  delegation. 
This  rule  still  is  applied  in  Democratic  conven- 
tions, although  the  Republicans  abrogated  it  long 
ago.  This  convention  also  was  the  first  in  which 
there  was  a  contest  for  the  nomination,  and  the 
unit  rule  was  the  outgrowth  of  that  contest.  It 
was  the  first  convention  in  which  wires  were 
pulled,  logs  rolled,  and  schemes  set  up.  Henry 
Clay,  leading  on  the  first  ballot,  was  defeated  by 
William  Henry  Harrison.  Yet  all  factions  of  the 
party  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  conven- 
tion. 

All  of  the  conventions  of  1844  accepted  the 
present  principles  of  party  government.  That 
was  the  year  in  which  the  first  "  dark  horse  " 
of  American  politics  made  his  appearance.  In 
the  Democratic  convention  Martin  Van  Buren 
was  the  leading  candidate,  and  had  a  majority  of 
the  delegates  at  the  outset.  But  the  friends  of 
James  K.  Polk,  up  to  that  time  unheard  of  as  a 
presidential  candidate,  managed  to  win  the  nomi- 


NATIONAL  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS    393 

nation  for  him  with  the  necessary  two-thirds 
vote.  From  that  day  to  this  there  has  been  no 
essential  change  in  the  American  system  of  party 
government.  It  took  about  a  half  century  to 
evolve  the  perfected  party  machinery  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Democratic  convention  of  1844  was  notable 
for  its  connection  with  the  first  use  of  the  tele- 
graph. The  original  line  from  Washington  to 
Baltimore  had  been  open  but  a  few  days  and 
nothing  but  the  congratulatory  messages  of  the 
opening  ceremonial  had  been  transmitted. 
Great  crowds  gathered  in  Washington  to  hear  the 
returns,  and  many  refused  to  credit  them.  To 
placate  Van  Buren,  the  vice-presidential  nomina- 
tion was  given  to  his  friend,  Silas  AVright.  The 
news  came  to  Senator  Wright  by  telegraph.  He 
wrote  a  telegram  declining  the  nomination, 
thereby  gaining  a  niche  in  history  as  the  first 
man  to  send  a  paid  telegram  and  the  only  one  to 
decline  a  nomination  by  a  national  convention 
of  one  of  the  principal  parties. 

It  is  always  customary  for  the  national  con- 
ventions to  notify  their  nominees  by  a  specially 
appointed  committee.  In  1848  the  post  office  was 
still  accepting  unprepaid  letters.  Zachary  Tay- 
lor had  paid  the  postage  on  so  many  letters  that 
had  proved  to  be  worthless  to  him  that  he  re- 
fused to  accept  *'  collect  "  mail.  Therefore  he 
rejected  the  letter  which  informed  him  of  his 
nomination,  and  the  notification  committee  broke 
the  news  to  him  actually  as  well  as  officially. 


394       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

After  the  national  conventions  make  their  se- 
lections of  standard  bearers,  the  real  tight  begins. 
While  a  few  of  the  candidates  before  the  Civil 
War  made  some  speeches,  and  while  there  was 
some  effort  to  get  out  the  vote,  it  was  not  until 
1876  that  the  modern  political  campaign  began 
to  take  shape.  Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  a  great  or- 
ganizer, and  laid  the  foundations  upon  which 
others  have  builded.  After  him  the  names  of 
William  C.  Whitney  and  Matthew  Stanley  Quay 
stand  out  with  most  prominence  until  the  cam- 
paign of  1896.  In  that  year  Mark  Hanna  was 
chosen  by  William  McKinley  to  captain  his  fight. 
In  many  respects  that  was  the  most  remarkable 
of  all  the  great  political  campaigns.  From  the 
first  of  August  to  election  day  the  expenses  of 
the  Republican  committee,  according  to  a  state- 
ment made  by  a  national  committeeman, 
amounted  to  $25,000  a  day.  Mr.  Hanna  is  said 
to  have  declared  that  he  had  $6,000,000  at  his 
disposal. 

In  1908  both  of  the  candidates  used  special 
trains.  Mr.  Bryan  traveled  20,000  miles,  deliv- 
ered more  than  600  speeches,  and  uttered  over  a 
million  words.  Mr.  Taft  finished  up  the  cam- 
paign with  14,000  miles  behind  him,  and  with  a 
record  of  418  speeches.  The  total  campaign  utter- 
ances of  the  two  men  would  fill  nearly  25  books 
like  this  volume. 

The  special  train  of  a  presidential  candidate 
always  carries  a  full  complement  of  stenogra- 
phers, newspaper  men,  prominent  citizens,  and 


NATIONAL  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS    395 

other  speakers  besides  the  candidate.  The  route 
is  arranged  with  as  much  care  as  the  itinerary 
of  a  circus.  The  population  of  each  stopping 
place,  the  hours  when  the  greatest  crowds  are 
likely  to  be  out,  and  a  hundred  other  details  must 
be  considered. 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  the  campaign  each 
party  in  Congress  tries  to  get  as  much  political 
stuff  as  possible  printed  in  the  Congressional 
Record.  Once  it  is  printed  there  they  can  send  as 
many  million  copies  of  it  through  the  mails  as 
they  choose  under  the  franks  of  the  Members. 
Millions  of  large  envelopes  are  printed  with  the 
reproduced  signatures  of  Members  of  Congress. 
Then  there  comes  the  time  when  polls  must  be 
made.  In  the  1908  campaign  Chairman  Hitch- 
cock made  one  great  poll  which  required  the  co- 
operation of  1,500  county  chairmen,  10,000  pre- 
cinct committeemen,  and  50,000  poll  takers.  They 
polled  more  than  5,000,000  voters  in  the  Middle 
West.  The  problem  of  financing  these  expensive 
methods  of  campaigning  is  a  great  one.  In  1908 
the  Democrats  used  magazine  and  newspaper  ad- 
vertising columns  to  solicit  contributions  to  their 
campaign  fund.  In  more  recent  years  there  has 
been  stringent  enforcement  of  the  law  against 
civil-service  assessments ;  yet  even  as  late  as  Gar- 
field's time  the  President  wrote  the  chairman 
wanting  to  know  how  the  people  in  the  Govern- 
ment service  were  responding,  and  later  it  was 
agreed  to  publish  the  names  of  those  who  did  not 
contribute. 


396       THE   AMERICAN    GOVERNMENT 

After  the  last  document  has  been  sent  out,  the 
last  speech  has  been  delivered,  and  the  last  news- 
paper story  given  out,  comes  the  voting.  Be- 
tween sunrise  and  sunset  from  14,000,000  to 
16,000,000  men  go  to  the  polls.  Then  comes  the 
counting.  From  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  million 
voting  places  come  the  returns.  The  press  asso- 
ciations have  been  preparing  for  the  great  task 
for  weeks.  They  have  prepared  lists  of  all  the 
candidates  on  all  the  State  and  municipal  tickets. 
This  list  is  15  columns  long  and  is  sent  out  to 
some  800  offices.  In  1904  the  little  town  of  Mash- 
pee,  Mass.,  got  its  results  on  the  wire  ahead  of 
every  other  voting  precinct  in  the  country.  As 
the  returns  begin  to  come  in  one  press  association 
has  everything  in  readiness  to  handle  40,000 
words  between  New  York  and  Chicago.  It  is 
able  to  handle  some  300  bulletins  of  varying 
lengths  in  six  hours,  placing  them  in  over  800 
newspaper  offices. 

The  growth  of  the  political  machinery  of  the 
country  since  the  national  convention  and  the 
party  committee  came  into  existence  in  1832  has 
kept  pace  with  the  marvelous  growth  of  the  coun- 
try itself.  Conventions  are  now  enormous  gath- 
erings of  politicians  and  curious  spectators  who 
spend  so  much  money  that  the  big  cities  quad- 
rennially carry  on  extensive  campaigns  for  the 
prize  of  being  designated  as  the  convention  city. 
The  committee  of  correspondence  has  developed 
into  the  compactly  organized  national  committee 
with  perennial  activities. 


NATIONAL  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS    397 

But  some  things  have  not  changed.  The  na- 
tional convention  still  considers  the  "  dark 
horse  "  or  eleventh-hour  candidate,  just  as  when 
Polk  was  nominated  in  1844.  The  Vice  Presi- 
dency is  still  used  to  placate  the  defeated  element, 
just  as  when  Silas  Wright  was  named  more  than 
three-score  years  ago.  The  friends  of  the  rival 
candidates  still  seek  to  "  pack  the  galleries  " 
with  their  partisans,  just  as  when  the  Seward 
supporters  were  out-generaled  by  the  Lincoln 
claque  in  1860.  Oratory  may  have  declined  in 
the  halls  of  the  parliaments,  but  it  still  flowers  in 
the  national  convention  as  it  did  when  Ingersoll 
dubbed  Blaine  the  Plumed  Knight;  when  Conk- 
ling  sought  to  name  Grant  for  the  third  term  by 
picturing  Appomattox  and  its  famous  apple  tree ; 
or  when  Bryan  nominated  himself  with  the 
**  cross  of  gold  and  crown  of  thorns  "  perora- 
tion. 

It  was  not  until  1910  and  1911  that  any  serious 
movement  for  changing  the  method  of  choosing 
the  President  was  proposed,  and  this  proposition 
came,  like  the  Blount  County  mass  meeting  of 
1823,  not  from  the  national  organizations,  but  from 
the  country.  That  was  the  proposition,  originat- 
ing in  Oregon,  of  instructing  the  delegates  to  the 
national  convention  in  a  party  primary  to  vote 
for  the  choice  of  the  voters  for  the  party  nomina- 
tion. This  idea  had  spread,  by  the  end  of  1911, 
to  as  many  as  10  States,  but  it  is  yet  too  soon  to 
say  whether  or  not  it  presages  a  fourth  change  in 
the  method  of  the  actual  selection  of  the  Chief 


398       THE   AMERICAN   GOVERNMENT 

Engineer  of  the  national  governmental  machine. 
From  1796  to  1800  candidates  were  selected  by- 
informal  popular  agreement;  from  1800  until 
1820  they  were  selected  by  congressional  cau- 
cuses; from  1820  to  1828  they  were  personal  and 
not  party  candidates;  and  from  1832  until  the 
present  time  nominations  have  been  made  imder 
more  or  less  stringent  regulations  by  delegated 
national  conventions.  It  is  odd  that  a  huge  and 
intricate  machine  such  as  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  which  in  its  actual  work  is  such 
a  complicated  arrangement  of  checks  and  bal- 
ances, should  be  operated  for  the  most  part  by 
one  man,  who  is  the  choice  of  one  or  the  other  of 
two  national  conventions,  meeting  for  two  or 
three  days  only,  under  circumstances  not  friendly, 
to  say  the  least,  to  calm  and  deliberate  judgment. 
But  it  is  to  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  by 
these  riotous  conventions  that  the  presidential 
electors  owe  and  pay  faithful  allegiance. 


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